March 2016 Archives

A St. Ann taxi operator was killed in a motor vehicle collision early Tuesday morning on the White River main road in the parish.

Dead is 37-year-old Ian Harrow of Lewis District, St Ann.

Reports from the Ocho Rios Police are that at about 1:25 am, Harrow was travelling towards Prospect, St Mary in a white Toyota Corolla motorcar, which collided head-on with a Toyota Corona motorcar travelling in the opposite direction.

A third vehicle collided in the back of the Toyota Corona motorcar. The motorists were assisted to the hospital by lawmen.

Harrow was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead, while the other two drivers were treated and released from hospital.

A source from the St Ann Traffic Police could not confirm to Loop News the total number of persons who received injuries in the accident, however eyewitness reports had suggested that up to eight persons were injured.

It's all good for media personality Amelia 'Milk' Sewell as she recently signed a six-figure endorsement deal with Strong Back Vitality Drink. Milk's supporters are rejoicing for her and giving her the thumbs up for getting back in the spotlight.

"Only the strong survive you go girl there are those of us out here that's rooting for you; much love and blessings girl," one fan shouted on Facebook.

According to Milk, who was recently hired Fame Fm's newest Entertainment Reporter/producer, "Everything in my life happens full circle, I fall down seven times and get up back eight. I am very grateful for the confidence Mr. Pinnock has showed in me ...Strong Back and Milk make a very potent concoction...we go very well together..."

She added, "The Strong Back vitality drink was launched recently via a very tongue in cheek television ad campaign and I have been getting a lot of strong feedback via social media about my role in the ad."

The manufacturer has revealed that sales have quadrupled since the ad campaign in February.

The vitality drink is also available in The Bahamas. This product is one of many bearing the 'Strong Back' brand - in reference to the strong back root that has become synonymous in Jamaican folklore with improving sexual performance, particularly with men. The root, which features natural aphrodisiac properties, grows naturally throughout the rural areas of the island and can also survive long dry spells.

Rapper Jeezy's teeth allegedly fell out of his mouth during a concert in Jacksonville, Florida, according to many online sources.

A photo of Jeezy reportedly without his teeth has been making the rounds on the Internet. The rapper had in a grill, but it would appear that he also had in dentures, which fell out, if the stories circulating are in fact true.

Earlier this month, Jeezy cursed out a fan who touched him during a concert.

"Don't f#$%ing touch me," Pastor Young said to a male fan at the time.

The Georgia rapper released his Church In These Streets album in November.

A just rumours dem spreading is the response from veteran deejay Ninjaman about claims on social media that his allegedly homosexual son is dead.

Entertainer Ninjaman has denied rumours that emerged on social media that his son had been brutally stabbed to death.

"If that happened, there would be photos of that all over the Internet, remember say he went and made himself famous during the national elections so if that happened, people woulda muss know if is true by now. Ah just rumours some irresponsible people ah spread," Ninjaman said.

A video of Ninjaman's son driving a car in which orange-clad gay men openly declared their homosexuality during a PNP motorcade went viral during the height of the recent General Elections.

A parish manager at the National Works Agency (NWA) was killed by gunmen in Lyssons, St Thomas shortly after midnight this morning.

He has been identified as 30-year-old Theos Blake.

Blake was shot dead as he visited friends on Lyssons Road in Morant Bay.

The police's Corporate Communications Unit says the incident happened about 12:05 a.m. when Blake was attacked by armed men. Explosions were heard and Blake's body was found, face down, by his friends.

So far no motive has been identified for the killing. The police continue to investigate.

The real-life "Jackie Brown" flight attendant who allegedly ditched two suitcases full of cocaine at a Los Angeles airport tearfully defended herself to her broken-up father.

"Somebody gave her the bag," her sullen dad told The Post on Saturday outside the family home in South Jamaica, Queens.

The father, who wouldn't give his name, recalled the emotional encounter with his little girl, 31-year-old Marsha Gay Reynolds, just before she landed behind bars on Wednesday.

"She broke down, of course," he said slowly, in a hushed voice. "She said she didn't know what was in" the luggage. "I'm not in a good place right now," he confessed, looking at the ground.

Prosecutors aren't buying her story and believe Reynolds had carried drugs before and only got cold feet after being randomly stopped at an LAX checkpoint for airline workers.

The JetBlue worker was heading to board a flight to La Guardia Airport on Friday when she kicked off her Gucci heels, dropped her bags stuffed with 60 pounds of drugs - $3 million worth - and bolted, according to police.

"She knew if she dropped both [her bags and heels], she'd be able to run away more quickly," said Marshall McClain of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association. "She was then able to hotfoot it out of the terminal, down an up escalator while barefoot, where we assume she got into a car and took off to parts unknown."

McClain told the Los Angeles Times he doesn't think it was Reynolds' first rodeo.

"I don't believe anybody would trust a mule with that amount of dope the first time out," he said.

Following the drug dump, Reynolds, who is a nursing student at Mercy College, caught a flight to New York and holed up in the Hilton hotel near JFK Airport, sources said. She surrendered to authorities Wednesday and was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Thirty-two-year-old police constable Ewan Duncan has been missing since Friday, February 12.

Duncan, who was attached to the Mobile Reserve lived in Fellowship Hall, Oracabessa, St. Mary

He is of brown complexion, stout build and is about 180 centimetres (5 feet 11 inches) tall.

The Oracabessa Police say about 4:30 a.m., on February 12, Duncan left home to go swimming and has not been seen or heard from since.

At the time he went missing, he was wearing a white turtle-neck shirt, grey jeans pants and grey sneakers.

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Constable Ewan Duncan is being asked to contact the Oracabessa Police at 975-3233, Port Maria Police Station at 994-2223, Police 119 emergency number or the nearest Police Station.

The Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw, says the government will have to find a new source of funds to help finance its planned income tax break for workers earning up to $1.5 million.

According to Shaw, the JLP had assumed that the money collected from the gas tax could be used to partially fund the tax break, but he said those funds had already been used up in the consolidated fund under the previous People's National Party administration.

He made the disclosure at a Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica breakfast on Tuesday.

However, many analysts had taken the JLP's tax break apart in the run up to the February 25 general elections and told them louldly that the plan was simply not feasible.

According to Shaw the government remains committed to implementing the income tax break, which was promised during the recent election campaign. It forms a part of the Jamaica Labour Party's 10-point Plan for Growth and Job Creation.

The JLP had planned to use an estimated $9.5 billion from the gas tax to help fund the measure that is expected to cost the country $12.5 billion.

People, oonu memba Bobo Zarro? The same Rastaman who did deh wid Amber from Irie and who talk up a bag a tingz when Amber get pregnant fi Octane. Poor Bobo Zarro did seh how him did tink seh Octane was him friend and how Octane use to all come a him house when Amber and Bobo Zarro did deh. Anyway, Bbo Zarro did seh him still love Amber and him woulda did look after the baby, even though him wasn't di father.

Well, y'alll gonne look at Zarro wid new respect. Him neva did mek it too big inna di music biz, but the esteemed Bobo Zarro is now the father of a real life queen. According to one sinting wha' we did a read: "Chanel Chin, daughter of Rastafarian reggae artiste Ludlow Chin better known as Bobo Zaro, and Marion Morgan, is now queen of the Iwo Kingdom after her marriage to King Adbul Rasheed Adewale Akanbi earlier this year."

We nuh need fi go no further.

But just one question we a ask. Does that mean that Bobo Zarro is now like a King or something?

Glen Grays, a postal worker in Brooklyn, had his delivery route cut short on St. Patrick's Day when he was handcuffed by four plainclothes police officers and placed in an unmarked car.

Cellphone video filmed by a bystander shows Grays in his postal service uniform, holding a package, when the officers approach him. The video doesn't show what led up to the encounter.

The footage was released this week by Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, who said Grays had been "carrying out his normal duties" as a mail carrier when he got out of his truck and "a vehicle passed by him, almost striking him."

"He made comments to the vehicle, as any New Yorker would," Adams said at a news conference Wednesday. "The occupants of the vehicle stopped, backed up when he was crossing the street delivering the package."

Those occupants were the four plainclothes officers who followed Grays to his delivery stop, according to Adams. The video shows the officers tell Gray to "stop resisting." They then take him away in handcuffs, leaving his mail truck unattended.

Yelling at the unmarked car about driving recklessly "is the only action that Glen did that day that caused those plainclothes officers to stop their vehicle and to show who's the biggest and the baddest, and place handcuffs on an on-duty postal employee who is delivering the U.S. mail," Adams said. "If they would do that to Glen, in his postal uniform, they would do it to any other person of color in this community."

Asked about the incident, the New York Police Department said only that "the matter is under internal review."

Mayor Bill de Blasio "will be in close touch" with New York City Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton "about this incident's investigation and findings," Monica Klein, the mayor's deputy press secretary, said in a statement.

"We expect all members of NYPD to act professionally and respectfully," Klein said.

Grays, who said he was issued a summons for disorderly conduct, is engaged to a New York police officer he met while on his delivery route, the New York Times reported.

Adams said the incident has "traumatized" Grays, who has never been arrested or received a summons from police before.

Adams said that Grays did nothing wrong in the video, adding: "It's hard not the believe that the only reason Glen was handcuffed is because [of] the color of his skin."

Grays is African American.

The police department in New York has come under fire in the past for policies that critics said disproportionately targeted people of color.

Fatal encounters with New York City police have brought additional scrutiny to the department: In 2014, an unarmed black man, Eric Garner, died after he was taken to the ground by officers and put in what appeared to be a chokehold. The incident was caught on tape and ignited protests across the country, with Garner's last words, "I can't breathe," becoming a rallying cry.

That same year, a rookie officer fatally shot Akai Gurley, an unarmed black man, in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project. The officer, Peter Liang, was convicted of manslaughter and fired from the department.

In 1999, an unarmed African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, was gunned down by four New York City police officers in front of his apartment building, killed in a hail of 41 bullets.

Sonya Sapp, the mother of Glen Grays, said this week that she cried when she watched the video of her son's arrest. He is the eldest of her six sons.

"I worry about all my boys, every minute, every second of every day," Sapp said at a news conference Wednesday.

The video begins by showing plainclothes officers approaching Grays, who is holding a package. Not all of the words they exchange are clear.

"You want my ID? My ID is right there inside of the truck," Grays tells the officers, pointing to the vehicle.

The officers tell him to get his ID. Grays is heard telling them he is delivering his postal route. Two officers physically pull him away from the door. The package, having fallen to the ground, is kicked away by an officer.

Four officers surround Grays, who repeats, frustrated: "I'm not resisting."

"Get off of me," he says.

The four plainclothes officers eventually lead Grays, handcuffed, to their unmarked black car.

An officer frisks him and puts him in the car.

Bystanders yell at the officers throughout the encounter. Some recognize Grays and call out to him by name. The video ends there.

Adams, the borough president, said that after the police vehicle drove away, it rear-ended another car and that Grays, who wasn't placed in a seatbelt, was injured in the crash.

"The driver, who had turned around to taunt him, hit the vehicle in front of them, Mr. Grays said, causing him to bang his shoulder against the front seat. Mr. Grays was then taken to the 71st Precinct station, where he was issued a summons for disorderly conduct that will require him to appear in court. He was then released."

Adams denounced the actions of the officers, saying he was deeply troubled by the treatment of a federal employee and that the "major steps" taken by de Blasio and Bratton to reform police practices haven't gotten "down to the street."

"This could have been another Eric Garner situation if Glen had not responded as calmly as he did," Adams said.

Lt. Stitchie is back in Jamaica after completing an approximately six week tour in Europe. He made appearances in several cities, namely: Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Aarhus, Odense, Hamburg, and Frankfurt.

Regretfully, a few shows were cancelled due to breaches made by promoters. None the less, all persons involved in the planning and execution of the tour, believes it was very victorious. The tour was hosted by Jam Link Intl. a cultural association based in Denmark.

Now that he is back on the island, Stitchie is hoping to shoot two music videos, one for "undisputed," a newly released single on the Life 101 Riddim by Blakkwuman22 Music and "nuh tek nuh talk," a track produced by Hit Matic Records.

Following the production of both videos he will head to the United States for several shows with Lady Saw.

Reggae's newest musical sensation Nesbeth has a big date in New York on Memorial Monday, May 30, 2016. Three months after he shared stage with Andrew Holness at the Prime Minster's swearing-in ceremony at Kings House in Jamaica, tri-state area music fans will get the opportunity to see Nesbeth perform live in concert for the first time at the third annual Oracabessa Festival at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, NY.

Nesbeth, born Greg Nesbeth is living his dream with arguably the biggest reggae song globally right now. Released last October, 'My Dream' zoomed to the top of the charts in Jamaica and the Diaspora. It was an anthem during the 2016 political campaign for both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP). The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) in an attempt to drum up support for the upcoming Jamaica vs Costa Rica World Cup qualifier match on March 25, recently selected the revered hit single as the theme song for the event.

"The song speaks to people," Nesbeth was quoted as saying.

On stage, Nesbeth is a crowd favorite. He showed his mettle at this year's Rebel Salute at Plantation Cove in St Ann where he thrilled thousands of music fans who sang his hit song word for word. It was an outstanding performance that also excited Oracabessa Festival executives who booked him for his first outdoor New York gig.

"We are thrilled at Irie Jam radio and so is the entire tri-state area to have this crowd favorite perform live on stage at the Oracabessa Festival. 'My Dream' is a fan favorite here on Irie Jam Radio an we are exited we landed him first" noted event organizer Bobby Clarke.

The Oracabessa Festival in three short years has built a reputation for showcasing the biggest and the best talents out of Jamaica. Two years ago festival organizers signed Tessanne Chin for her very first performance in the tri-state after she won The Voice season five and what a success story that was.

Fraud squad police believe they have cracked a fraud scheme in which a business place was fleeced of over $62 million by one of its managers.

Detectives assigned to the Fraud Squad at the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) reported that, on Monday, they arrested and charged 37-year-old Taneka Stewart-Blake, of a Mahoe Avenue address in Old Harbour, St Catherine.

Reports are that Stewart-Blake was a manager at a prominent business place in Mandeville, Manchester between December 2008 and December 2015.

It is reported that she misrepresented the daily sales at the company and pocketed $62,753,681.

The matter was reported to Fraud Squad and an investigation subsequently launched.

Stewart-Blake was arrested and charged on Monday, March 21 and is to appear before the Corporate Area Criminal Court on Wednesday, March 30. She has not been offered bail.

Health officials in Jamaica are highly concerned about the state in which a Jamaican man working at the United States military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was transferred to Kingston for emergency medical care.

Heightening the concerns of health officials is the non-response by US Embassy officials in Kingston to request for information to guide them on the course of treatment of the injured man who said to be in critical condition at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

Reports are that the man, who was employed to a Jamaican contractor at the US military base, developed a dental abscess and sustained complications after attempts were made to drain it.

Reports are that no medical data on the sick man was supplied at the time of transfer, no were local health officials notified prior to arrival.

According to sources in the public health sector here, attempts to get assistance from the United States Embassy have been unsuccessful.

As a result, one local health official has suggested that the Jamaican government put measures in place to ensure that a similar incident is not repeated.

The JetBlue flight attendant accused of attempting to smuggle nearly 70 pounds of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport will remain in custody in a New York jail.

The judge overseeing the case, Viktor V. Pohorelsky, had originally granted 31-year-old Marsha Reynolds $500,000 bail during a hearing in a Brooklyn court Thursday, a decision he made in large part because she surrendered herself, he said. But a judge in Los Angeles, from where she fled to New York, overturned the decision late Thursday and Reynolds' attorneys failed today in New York federal court to have the L.A. decision overturned. So she will remain in police custody until April 7, when she will appear in front of a California court.

It is unclear when she will be transported to California by U.S. Marshals.Reynolds was charged with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine after she allegedly dropped a suitcase full of the drugs at an airport security checkpoint at LAX airport on March 18, before fleeing. She turned herself into authorities in New York Wednesday.

A family spokesman, Allan Jennings, said after Thursday's bail hearing that Reynolds maintains she did not know what was inside the bag when she was at the airport.

LAX police soon after found 11 packages of cocaine wrapped in green cellophane and labeled, "BIG Ranch" inside one of the bags Reynolds had left behind, the affidavit says.The cocaine weighed just over 68 pounds. Wholesale, the drugs would be worth about $750,000 in Los Angeles, said Special Agent Timothy Massino, a spokesman for the US Drug Enforcement Administration. On the streets of Los Angeles, Massino said the retail value of the cocaine could be as high as $3 million.

Security threats from "insiders," including airline and airport employees and workers hired by contractors, have been a focus of the TSA, particularly after the December 2014 arrest of several Delta Air Lines baggage handlers. Prosecutors allege they smuggled guns, including an AK-47, from Atlanta to New York.

The former Mis Jamaica contestant and JetBlue flight attendant arrested in an LAX cocaine smuggling case is "a very accomplished young lady" and the allegations are "completely out of character," her attorney said.

Dennis J. Ring said it was too early in the case to answer specific allegations against Marsha Gay Reynolds but defended her character. He said she is a U.S. citizen born in Jamaica who had competed in beauty pageants in the past. She was studying to become a nurse while working for JetBlue, he said.

Reynolds is a former beauty pageant contestant and has been a New York-based JetBlue employee for six years. She is also a full-time nursing student.

Her New York lawyer, Brad Mazarin, told ABC News she is in "high spirits," calling her a "very nice young lady." But the case is now out of his hands, he said.Reynolds, who worked for JetBlue Airways, kicked off her heels and fled Terminal 4 around 7 p.m. Friday, just minutes after she was randomly selected for additional screening, according to a criminal complaint filed this week. Barreling the wrong way down an escalator, Reynolds sprinted out of the terminal and disappeared outside.

TSA officials did not pursue her because they were concerned her abandoned luggage might have contained explosives, the complaint said. When they did investigate her luggage, they found it loaded with 70 pounds of cocaine.

Now, questions are being asked about how Reynolds was able to elude authorities. Even though her airline crew member badge had been scanned at a security checkpoint moments before she fled LAX, authorities were unable to identify her until the following day. It took until Saturday for authorities in Washington, D.C., to identify Reynolds from the database, according to a source with knowledge of the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authorization to discuss the case with the media.

An FBI spokeswoman said investigators learned Reynolds' identity hours after the 31-year-old boarded a flight Saturday from Los Angeles International Airport to New York, where she resides.

The TSA officer who had scanned her badge told airport police he remembered her last name, according to the source with knowledge of the case. That information should have been enough to stop Reynolds from boarding a second flight, the source said. The difficulty in identifying Reynolds - and the ease with which she managed to escape the terminal Friday - highlighted serious security flaws at the nation's second-largest airport, said Marshall McClain, president of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Assn.

Jamaican dancer Fire Gyal Flexi has had her moment in the spotlight since a vieo of her dramatically setting her vagina ablze has gone viral, with even TMZ doing a story on her.

According to TMZ: "Fire Gal Flexi -- a competitor in a Dancehall contest -- tells us the incendiary moment was accidental. Her plan was to put rubbing alcohol on her crotch, which she would lite and then immediately smother the flames.

Problem was ... she applied way too much alcohol, and she became a human torch.

Flexi is a little lighter Wednesday -- literally and figuratively -- she suffered 1st degree burns and lost layers of skin, but pressed on and won the dance competition, scoring a trophy and $500 prize.

She'll now go on to the international contest in Jamaica. Hopefully, TSA will confiscate the rubbing alcohol."

Scores of gay squatters who ere eviceted from a house in an affluent neighbourhood in 2013 are right back where they started. The men, who have been accused of being a nuisance since they returned some three months ago, reportedly keep growing in numbers

Estimates are that over 30 cross-dressers and homosexuals are now living at the St Andrew residence much to the disgust of their neighbours.

"Dem need fi go somewhere else. They are a nuisance to us around here," said a female resident, while another added that they often steal water and fruits from trees.

A domestic helper said, "When we a come or leave work, we afraid cause dem will rob we."

However, claims of nuisance, were quickly denied.

"A nuh we a di trouble makers. A di one dem weh go New Kingston rob people and dem ting deh," he said.

The funeral service for Reggae singer Luciano's son Menelik McClymont will take place on Friday, April 3 at Meadowvale Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Red Hills Road.

His stepmother Sonia Sterling who confirmed the arrangements said he will be buried at the Meadowrest Memorial Park in St Catherine. According to a report in the Jamaica Observer the singer is not handling his son's death very well.

His wife told the paper that Luciano has to be cancelling his shows and added to that some promoters are threatening to sue. While promoters are unfeeling towards the grief he has been going through his wife said the entertainment community has been very supportive.

"A couple of artistes pass through and offer dem condolences... Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffiths, Tony Rebel. It really make a difference. And we have been getting text from people far and wide," she was quoted as saying.

Luciano's son was stabbed several times on February 27 at about 2:30 pm. He was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The JetBlue flight attendant who kicked off her Gucci heels and ran leaving 70 pounds of cocaine behind at LAX will have to stay in jail a little while longer.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, 31, appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court on Thursday where a judge granted her a $500,000 bond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Washington asked the judge to delay Reynold's release pending an extradition appeal by a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles.

Wearing grey Converse sneakers and jeans, Reynolds appeared in court with her mother and Allen Jennings, a controversial Pentecostal preacher who was accused of sexual harassment when he was a city councilman.

Jennings and Reynolds' mother put up their homes to secure her 500K bond.

"Miss Reynolds is a very good young woman,," Jennings said in open court. "She may not have been fully aware of what was in the bags."

Jennings added that Reynolds flew back to NY using her JetBlue credentials which were still valid until Thursday when JetBlue suspended her.

Reynolds, who is a former beauty queen in her native Jamaica, is studying to be a nurse at Mercy College. She also ran track at New York University.

NEW YORK (AP) - A JetBlue flight attendant accused of trying to sneak a suitcase full of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport and making a dramatic dash to escape says she might not have been sure what was in her bag, a spokesman for her said Thursday as prosecutors suggested she had smuggled before.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, a former Jamaican beauty queen and college track athlete, turned herself in Wednesday to face a federal drug charge.

Authorities said they found 70 pounds of cocaine in her luggage at LAX on March 18 after she was flagged for a random security screening, flung off her high heels and bolted barefoot down an upward-moving escalator. They said she ran out of the terminal and crossed the country to New York.

Reynolds' spokesman Allan Jennings, representing her family and her defense lawyer, said, "She may not have been fully aware of what was in the bags."

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Washington told a court that last week was "not the only time the defendant has engaged in this conduct." Washington didn't elaborate, and Jennings said he was surprised by the claim.

A U.S. magistrate judge set bail for Reynolds at $500,000 and then warned her parents and two friends from her church they could lose their homes if she flees. He gave prosecutors a day to appeal before Reynolds can be freed.

Reynolds, a 31-year-old Jamaican-born U.S. citizen, graduated from New York University and ran track there. She was a runner-up in the Miss Jamaica World 2008 pageant, which sends the country's representative to Miss World contests.

Leaders of the Jamaica pageant were "shocked and surprised" at news of Reynolds' arrest, said organizer Laura Butler, who doesn't know Reynolds. She said Reynolds apparently had traveled to Jamaica to compete while living in New York, as the contest allows for women of Jamaican heritage living elsewhere.

Reynolds arrived last week at a security checkpoint in LAX's Terminal 4 wearing jeans, heels and a black suit jacket and carrying her known crew member badge, an FBI agent's sworn statement said. She was off duty at the time.

Asked to step aside for a random check, Reynolds nervously looked around and made a cellphone call as she was led to a screening area, the statement said. When a Transportation Security Administration officer asked her for identification, she dropper her bag, ditched her Gucci shoes and took off, an affidavit said. A TSA officer said he didn't pursue her because his primary concern was her abandoned luggage.

In it was just over 68 pounds of cocaine, worth as much as $3 million on the streets of Los Angeles, authorities said.

JetBlue Airways Corp., which suspended Reynolds, said it was cooperating with the investigation.

Prosecutors said Reynolds "took advantage of her position as a crew member" and "abused the trust" she had. If convicted, Reynolds could face at least 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.

The TSA has been concerned about security threats from insiders, including airline and airport employees, particularly after several baggage handlers were arrested in December 2014 on charges of smuggling guns from Atlanta to New York.

Dancehall artiste, Timberlee is over the moon now that her bundle of joy has arrived.

This is what she had to say on Twitter, as she posted a pic of her little man sound asleep..

"Nap time be like...???????????? ??????. I love my baby so much words can't explain. It really is something you have to experience for urself to really know the feeling. But having him and loving him beyond verbal expression makes me wonder about the mothers who mistreat their babies and how insane they must be, and it also makes me aware of how great God is to bring parents through the pain of loosing a child. Anyways, whether you're experiencing the challenges of raising a child or if your child has gone to Heaven, it is only by the grace of God that we are able to make the decisions that are right for ourselves and our loved ones each day. #LifeChanging #SelfLesslyLiving #SuperBabyPowers #AllinAdaysLove."

Grammy-nominated gospel singer James Fortune has begun serving five days in a Texas jail for assaulting his wife during a 2014 argument.sp

Fort Bend County jail records show the 38-year-old Fortune turned himself in Monday night in Richmond, about 20 miles southwest of Houston.

Fortune earlier this year month pleaded guilty to assault on a family member, in a plea deal. Fortune must also serve five years of probation, do community service and not have any contact with his estranged wife.

Fortune's hits include "Hold On" and "I Trust You."

In court, a prosecutor read a victim impact statement from Fortune's wife in which she wrote, "I hope in all of this you get help. Serious help. Although this probation might be like a slap on the wrist, I hope you look at it as a moment to better yourself and change something within you for your future."

This is the second time Fortune has pleaded guilty after hurting a family member.

In 2002 he took a plea deal for six years of probation after burning his four-year-old son in hot water.

There was a massive operation underway in sections of Tivoli Gardens in Kingston.

Police, in a pre dawn raid on Tuesday, swooped down on sections of the West Kingston community, searching for guns and wanted men.

"The clamp down is part of an initiative to bring the recent crime situation under control and to go after some persons we believe are key players in the ongoing gang feud that has once again triggered tension in the area," a senior officer told explained.

The row engulfing this year's staging of the popular Schools' Challenge Quiz competition is escalating with the threat of legal action by Camperdown High and strong discontent being expressed by Kingston College.

Former Jamaican Ambassador to the United States and Professor of International Law at the University of the West Indies, Stephen Vasciannie has sent a letter to Television Jamaica's General Manager, Claire Grant.

Vasciannie told Grant that the recent deduction of four points from Kingston College during their quarter-final match, which resulted in KC being belatedly declared losers to Campion College, is unfair and unjust. He warned the TVJ General Manager that the integrity of the competition, which has a rich history, is at risk.

The Professor said fairness should result in the match being awarded to KC.

Vascaiannie noted that, at the end of the match, it appeared that Kingston College had won by four points. According to Professor Vasciannie, his understanding from persons present at the studio when the match was recorded is that the judges held that Kingston College had mispronounced the name "Absalom".

He said, on examination, it is evident that there was nothing wrong with the pronunciation of "Absalom". Ambassador Vasciannie's letter was copied to the Chairman of the RJR Communications group, Lester Spaulding.

Vascianne is a former President of the Kingston College Old Boys Association.

The SCQ competition was engulfed in controversy earlier this week when an incorrect tally of the scores resulted in a rematch being ordered between Camperdown and Ardenne High, which Ardenne won. Camperdown has threatened legal action in the matter.

Rob Ford, the former Toronto mayor who polarized voters with his brash, uncompromising political style and became an international celebrity for his drug and alcohol use while in office, has died. He was 46.

His family confirmed his death today, saying he had been fighting cancer.

He became known internationally in 2013 after Toronto police said they had obtained a video that appeared to show Ford smoking crack cocaine.

Ford had remained a councillor after withdrawing from the 2014 race to keep his job in Canada's largest city. He withdrew after being hospitalised with an abdominal tumour and endorsed his brother, Doug, who would lose out to John Tory.

A statement from his office announced the death of the "beloved son, brother, husband and father".

"A dedicated man of the people, Councillor Ford spent his life serving the citizens of Toronto.

"The family asks that you respect their privacy and join them in their grieving and their prayers."

Swept to the office in 2010 on a platform pledging to "stop the gravy train", Ford would soon become involved in a number of highly publicised incidents.

After months of denials about the content of the video, Ford admitted to smoking crack, but said he was not an addict. After reports of a second video emerged of him smoking crack, he decided to enter rehab.

It was reported yesterday that he had been in a palliative care facility.

Dis a wha di lawsuit seh: "Sean Kingston went to Haimov Jewelers in Florida and traded in a used Rolex for a new $59,000 model, and the balance owed was $25,000. He also took a diamond bracelet with a price tag of $19,000 to buy or $4,000 to rent. Sean Kingston signed a receipt agreeing to pay for the items the next day."

Di people dem say dat all now Sean Kingston doan pay dem dem money.

Sean Kingston name did a call up inna some next jewellery sinting when people did seh him owe dem $226,000 and one time dem did seh dat Sean Kingston was kidnapped over another jewellery deal gone wrong.

Bwoy, journalism and PR really gone to di dawgs. We couldn't believe when we read this story online pon one site that we did tink have sense.

This is what Tifa publicist send go gi di people dem. (Or whoever write it on behalf of Tifa, cause it obvious that the article is straight PR.) "The diva was recently spotted at a very opulent event canoodling with what is being rumoured to be her new beau. Based on information gathered, the man in question is known as a tycoon in various business circles and is said to be the heir to a multi-million dollar international company based in the US and also an avid fan of Caribbean music.A report further stated that, while at the event, the two were tucked away in a dimly lit private cabana overlooking Kingston as they toasted the night away. However, according to one eyewitness, "despite them trying to be discreet, it was obvious there was a lot more than mere friendship happening between them." When contacted and quizzed, the Big Bumper singer seemingly surprised by the report and neither denied nor confirmed the rumour, but quickly added that what she does in her personal life is exactly that and she would appreciate it remaining that way."

Whoever Tifa publicist is, we haffi big yuh up. Not for writing the bull, but for actually persuading the website to carry it.

As expected, the article ends with information on Tifa's upcoming shows and her latest singles, which, I dare say, was the real intent of the story.

Joseph Jackson has sent a public Thank You note to Michael Jackson's executors. The reason? They sold Michael's part of Sony/ATV Music and the Beatles catalog back to Sony for $750 million. Joe no doubt read that there's a $733 lump sum payout on March 31st. He's probably hoping for a taste. I love how he adds "my wife Katherine and myself"- they haven't lived together for years, he has an illegitimate daughter, she's had divorce papers drawn up several times.

At 87, Joseph Jackson's been recuperating from strokes and a heart attack he had in Brazil on his birthday last year after taking sex drugs in the hopes of getting some action. Am I being too hard on him? Yeah, he beat those kids, particularly Michael. If Michael were alive, the catalog would still not be sold, and Joe wouldn't be getting money from him. Remember, this is the man who brought a Michael Jackson imitator with him to the BET Awards four days after Michael died.

Here's his statement:

On behalf of my wife Katherine and myself, I would like to personally thank the Executors of my Son's Estate for a Job well done. Selling the Music catalog at the high end of today's Market value of over 750 Million US Dollars, has secured many times over the financial future of Michael's children: Prince, Paris and Blanket.

It is every fathers dream to secure the financial well being of his children. That is what drove me to work 2 jobs in my youth while struggling to make it through the Entertainment world.

The former Governor of California walked off-set during an interview on Australia's "Weekend Sunrise" program Saturday morning after being asked to opine on possible Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

"This is an interview that I only do about fitness and health, not about politics or my relationships," Schwarzenegger told host Angela Cox before ending the interview.

Schwarzenegger is currently in Australia to promote a series of fitness events, including the Arnold World Strongman Championships.

It's understandable why a journalist would be interested in Arnold's thoughts on Trump. Like Trump, Schwarzenegger is an entertainment personality-turned-Republican politician, and was also named as Trump's replacement on "The Celebrity Apprentice" in September 2015.

Singer, song-writer and multiple award winner, Empire I, is fully focused on taking control of her musical destiny in 2016; so much so that she has named her latest single, Take Control.

An upbeat, fun song, described as having an "all-reaching, all-pleasing sound", Take Control is an infectious, mixed genre single which seems poised to catapult the artiste's career to yet another level. No stranger to international nominations and awards, Empire I - who released five albums between 2005 and 2012 - was named the Best International Artiste (2008) by the Underground Urban Music Awards; Best World Music Artist of the Year (2008) by the Sounds of Blackness Awards and also picked up awards at the Montreal Hip Hop Awards and the Toronto Exclusive.

Having been recognized by these various music entities, the half British half Moroccan entertainer, who has savoured success with songs including Come With Me, Ignite, Nana Power, Get Up On It, Passion, Bang Bang, and Fi Di Man Dem, is now yearning to make a solid impact on the local music industry. Fascinated by reggae/dancehall music and so captivated by the Jamaican culture that she calls Kingston home, Empire I said it was revealed to her in a dream that her path would lead to Jamaica.

"Kingston is where I fit in, where I feel at home," said the singer who landed a successful placement in HBO's popular comedy series, Girls, with her single, Get Up On It being used in the promotional ads for the upcoming season which kicked off in February.

She continued, "I want Jamaicans to understand how much I love and respect Dancehall and am willing to experiment within a framework of respect. I want to take my place here on the scene."

The artiste and her team are in full promotional mode for Take Control, which has received the nod from critics and love from radio and the dancehall. However, the shrewd entertainer is always engaging other markets and with a manager in New York and another in Sweden, Empire I is fuelling her music through multiple channels and on various platforms. On her concert roster are upcoming performances in Gambia in May; China in June; Jamaica in July and Europe in August.

"But my immediate big performance will be for the Jamaican audience at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre this month-end and I am definitely looking forward to it," says Empire, whose career started in Jamaica while filming a documentary about the Bobo Shantis , who subsequently urged her to put down the camera and take up the mic, after they heard her free-styling.

A team of executives, volunteers and key community supporters from the not for profit organization, Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB) is currently in Jamaica where they supported hundreds of athletes in competition at the annual ISSA/Grace Boys & Girls Championships, which ended Saturday at the National Stadium. T

"Our volunteers and supporters are extraordinary," says Irwine Clare, Snr., CEO and Founder of the organization. "They have taken time from their businesses and work (and at their own expense) to make the trek, not only to show our support but because we are also fans of this fantastic sport. We are thrilled to serve our athletes and it pleases us greatly when they do well", he continued. "We work very hard each year to ensure that they are comfortable when they are at the Penn Relays and will continue to do so. We thank the community for its support in making it all happen."

Now in its 22nd year, TJB has been the mainstay of support for athletes every year at the annual Penn Relays Carnival, held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, providing a plethora of services which include meals, transportation, booking and coordinating hotel accommodation and chiropractic care.

Having had the distinction of being the first Jamaican/Caribbean sponsor at the Penn Relays, TJB opened the doors and consequently the very lucrative Diaspora and mainstream markets to mega brands such as Grace Foods, (now title sponsor), Jamaica Tourist Board, VMBS, LIME, Digicel, Caribbean Food Delights, Golden Krust, Tower Isles and others who now participate or have participated in the three day carnival, gaining exposure to the over 115,000 spectators on hand and millions more through the NBC Saturday national broadcast.

The team will host a reception to kick off its 2016 activities at the Jamaica Pegasus on Monday before returning to New York on Tuesday to continue its preparation for the Penn Relays.

At this year's Granville Carnival, which is endorsed by Montego Bay deputy mayor Michael Troupe, cash prizes are being awarded to the persons with the best carnival costume,and also for women with the best 'assets'.

While there is talk that it sends a wrong message for the mayor to be endorsing an event such as thisTroupe said he has a committee that is responsible for its planning and execution.

"My understanding is that it is a part of the water party celebrations and was planned by the members of the committee. I also understand that the judging will be handled by persons outside of the community," Troupe told The Star.

When quizzed on the appropriateness of him endorsing such competitions given his public office, the deputy mayor said that he supports the event for the positive changes it has made in the community since its inception.

"It gives them a chance to party and have fun together and builds unity among them and I endorse the event for those reasons."

Troupe said that he did not read the poster carefully and thus was not aware of the segments for which prizes were being offered.

"I just got the poster and uploaded it. Honestly, I did not see the fine print. I'm endorsing the event for the positive changes it has brought to the community over the years and nothing else."

The Granville Annual Carnival Mardi Gras event is scheduled to take place at the Granville Post Office. A road march is set to signal the start of the festivities as persons are expected to march from Cars-to-Go in Catherine Hall.

Reggae artist, Eljai, will be releasing the first single "Everything I Do" from his upcoming album, The Other Side Of Eljai on Friday April 1, 2016. The worldwide digital release of this single from this Belizean born singer will be through the Jah Mix Entertainment label and distributed by Tuff Gong International (Reggae legend, Bob Marley's original record company). "I am overjoyed to be releasing this new single and album for my fans and to be working with a company with a historic legacy such as Tuff Gong," says Eljai. Tuff Gong International's executive label manager, Myshjua Allen stated, "Reggae music is loved and respected by fans and artists worldwide. Tuff Gong International's roster of labels and artists reflects the power and popularity of the music and the core messages."

The beautifully shot music video for "Everything I Do" will also premiere globally on release day, April 1st, on Reggaeville.com, one of the world's top Reggae websites.

This single release has been long awaited from this veteran artist as Eljai has been consistently been releasing singles and EPs. This is his first full album since acclaimed I Know release in 2010. Eljai has a number of international shows and media appearances lined up for 2016 in support of the new album. Production assistance on the album track comes from some of Reggae's top musicians including Dean "Cannon" Fraser, Carroll "Bowie" McLaughlin, Stingray Records UK, Carl McGregor and others.

Dr Winston De La Haye, the Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health, was held up and robbed by gunmen in the upscale Acadia area in Constant Spring on Saturday.

Dr De La Haye and his wife reportedly went to pick up their child on Acadia Drive in St Andrew, when they were accosted by two armed men.

Head of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), Assistant Commissioner Elan Powell, said on television on Saturday, that the couple was robbed of cash, cell phones and jewelry, but was not harmed by the attackers.

The robbers were said to have made good their escape on foot in the area.

Dr De La Haye was recently appointed to act in the senior post within the Ministry of Health, following the retirement of the former office holder, Dr Marion Bullock-Ducasse.

Hotelier and chairman of the Jamaica Observer sewspaper, , Gordon 'Butch' Stewart made the headlines last week when he dropped a 17.5 billion dollar lawsuit against his print media rival, the Gleaner company.

According to Stewart's paper, the lawsui stated that the report that "the shares of businessman Gordon 'Butch' Stewart in Gorstew have been frozen due to his failure to pay legal cost to the tune of J$40 million to one Noel Sloley is false and defamatory.

"This publication was and is factually incorrect. The freezing order in question is in respect of costs claimed by Jamaica Tours Limited, which is the subject of ongoing litigation in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal."

There has so far been no response from the Gleaner, but online has been buzzing. Most of the comments have been supportive of the intended action, but a few have been critical.

Brlow are a some of the comments:

"I am no lawyer here...but let me see if I can reason this out.

Some time in March 2009 (Observer Article dated March 15, 2009) United States and local agents, in a ground-breaking development, swooped down on the offices of Jamaica Tours Limited, owned by the family of Opposition Senator Noel Sloley, to trace the origin of a vexatious e-mail that allegedly libeled Gordon 'Butch' Stewart...Fast forward to 2016...Jamaica Tours Limited is claiming Legal Costs. You can only claim legal costs when you triumph in the Courts. So, I guess its safe to say JTL/Noel Sloley did. That now leads us to the issue of the frozen shares. So the shares were frozen not because of "failure to pay legal cost" but the freezing order in question is in respect of costs claimed by Jamaica Tours Limited, which is the subject of ongoing litigation in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Hhhmmm, sounds like someone is splitting hairs."

"Mr Stewart you want tell us that the Gleaner print a misleading story on there web site Friday and now today Monday it cause you significant damage and also resulted in significant losses, you know that what you mention you got to prove the " significant damage" and "significant losses" to the courts to be compensated, now I can understan the false and defamation lawsuit.

"But you also admitted that the freezing of assets is true but it pertain to the Jamaica Tours Limited and not one Mr Noel Sloley. Now you know that if Mr Noel Sloley is Jamaica Tours Limited or a part of then the story only is deceptive and not entirely false, I wish you we'll, knowing fullwell this going to take years to litigate if you really got a case."

The Marley family chalked up another victory when a United States court sided with them in a lawsuit filed against a company that sold shirts with the late Bob Marley's image.

The estate of the Jamaican icon had filed a suit after low-cost T-shirts - featuring a photo of a speaking Marley next to the yellow, green and red colors associated with his Rastafarian faith - went on sale at Walmart, Target and other major US retailers.

In 2011 a Nevada jury awarded over $2 million in damages and legal fees to firms owned by Marley's children that said they had lost an order to sell T-shirts at Walmart as the unauthorized rival was distributing a similar product.

The defendants lodge an appeal but that was rejected on Friday by a federal court which agreed that the non-family companies violated the 1946 Lanham Act, a key US law on copyright infringement.

Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the unsolved 2005 Aruba disappearance of Alabama teen, Natalee Holloway, appears to have made a shocking confession to an undercover reporter about having murdered her.

Dutch convicted killer van der Sloot, who is in a Peru jail for the 2010 murder of a 22-year-old woman there, was captured on an undercover video admitting that he lied to the police about Holloway's death, Radar¬Online.com reported Wednesday.

"I always lied to the police. I never told the truth," said a grinning van der Sloot in the video. He was speaking in Dutch about the Holloway case to his wife and an undercover reporter working for Radar¬Online and the National Enquirer.

"Also, when I was young¬er, I never told everything. The police just never knew what they had to ask me," van der Sloot said.

When asked if he's talking about the Holloway case, van der Sloot replied, "Yes, this is also where I am guilty and I accept everything that I have done."

He added, "I think that was one of the worst police investigations that ever took place."

Van der Sloot was the last person to be seen with 18-year-old Holloway, who vanished on a high school trip to the Caribbean island.

Reggae band leader Frederick "Toots" Hibbert has settled a lawsuit he filed against the organisers of an outdoor festival in Richmond, Virginia, after he was struck in the head with a vodka bottle in 2013.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that news of the settlement comes after attorneys for Hibbert and Venture Richmond, the organizer of the Dominion Riverrock festival, both asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit last month.

None of the parties involved would disclose details of the settlement.

The 73-year-old leader of Toots and the Maytals had filed a $20 million lawsuit in 2014, accusing Venture Richmond of negligence in planning security and alcoholic beverage sales.

Wanted men - most of whom were wanted on charges ranging from rape to murder - have been apprehended by the Westmoreland police.

The 10 were picked up as the police executed 300 warrants since the start of January, David White, the superintendent in charge of the Westmoreland division, told Loop News.

Among the offenders were motorists wanted on road traffic violations.

"We are stepping up our drive," said White, who is well-regarded within the police force.

At the same time, the senior cop said that 'Jawbone', one of the most wanted men in the western end of Jamaica is now on his radar. He's wanted for a number of murders and is known to frequent the areas of Waterworks, Savanna-la-Mar and Whithorn in the parish.

"We won't stop until we get this man. He's our number one priority, I can emphasize, until we get him off the street," said the superintendent, who took over the Westmoreland division last year.

Meanwhile, White said that his men have recovered nine or 10 firearms since January. The figure, he said, is more than the total number of firearms recovered in 2015.

Playwright, artistic director, actress, broadcaster, communications practitioner and marketing specialist, Dahlia Harris has been appointed as Director of Culture in Education at the Ministry of Education, Information and Youth.

Harris, who was Principal Director of Culture under the previous PNP administration, was dismissed following a dispute with senior members of the then Lisa Hanna-led Youth and Culture Ministry.

Her appointment comes as the Andrew Holness administration begins to ring the changes in its first few weeks in office.

She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, where she pursued a double major in mass communications and literature.She has served as a member of the Board of the Creative Production and Training Centre, and the Entertainment Advisory Board of the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has confirmed plans to discontinue the practice of giving extra answer sheets to students sitting two of its exams, but says that this will not place candidates at a disadvantage.

The council says it is aware that some people are concerned about the new policy. However, it has sought to assure the public that it has a new booklet which has adequate space for students to write answers.

The council says the new booklets were used on five previous occasions and it did not receive any complaints that CSEC or CAPE candidates needed additional answer sheets.

According to CXC, it has done adequate research and is confident that the space provided in the new booklet is more than adequate for the expected responses.

The CXC says in an effort to ensure that no candidate is disadvantaged, the new answer booklets, also provide a general area, at the back of the booklet to facilitate candidates who write significantly more than is typical.

Upcoming artiste, Ikon, who is promoting his latest single, Make A Wish, strikes again! This time around, the man who climbed ZIP FM tower and threatened to commit suicide if his music was not played, has set up a campsite outside the Irie FM headquarters in St Ann.

"Me waan know every disc jock a Irie FM and give dem a CD. Every DJ no work one day and a Portmore me live. Me cyaan afford dem expensive hotel yah a Ochi so me jus camp out," the artiste told a local newspaper.

"I'm at the gate. If you a go in, you haffi see me, if you come out yuh haffi see me. Me have me camping tent, me have radio, food, CD. Anything you bring go pon camping a it me have out yah."

Me no business wah people waan say bout me. Me jus determine say me haffi get my goal. This time me nah go bout it so extreme. Rotation a me goal. The first time dem say the quality a me music neva match dem standard but right now, me quality way up," he explained.

Following the killing of Nicholas Beadle at the hands of alleged homosexuals last month, police say they have yet to make any breakthroughs in bringing the still-at-large perpetrator to justice.

Beadle, 27, was stabbed to death while on his way home from work on February 25 as he navigated through a path in the vicinity of West King's House road. He died while receiving treatment in the hospital.

The deceased man's family is now waiting for an arrest with a heavy heart, and hoping police find his assailants.

"My son died, and now you hear them saying they are stepping up security," said the victim's father. "That not helping me again! I already have my loss. This is one of our biggest losses."

A source told the website that the situation has become a "public relations headache" for the company.

Many entertainers have publicly voiced their support for Keisha, with Adele, who is a Sony artiste, dedicating her recent awards to the singer. Sony subsequently stated that although Dr Luke was affiliated with the organisation, he was not directly employed by Sony.

Elsewhere, sportscaster Erin Andrews was recently awarded $55 million in the wake of a suit against a man who took invasive videos of her and the hotel that apparently allowed it to happen.

Bank card fraudsters reportedly went on a shopping spree to the value of US$32,000 (J$3.8 million) with dancehall artiste QQ Bank of America card last week.

Online reports are that the entertainer tried to use his Bank of America card at an ATM machine in New York last Wednesday, only for it to be declined owing to lack of funds.

QQ's father is quoted as saying, "When he got in touch with the bank they told him he had no funds in the account and he asked them how that was possible. They explained that he had been spending huge funds over the past few days doing online shopping, but QQ was not the one making the purchases."

As reports of surgery to put in breast implants swirl around her, radio personality and Magnum host Yanique 'Curvy Diva' Barrett has put out a press release which neither denies nor confirms whether or not her breasts are new.

"When someone is considered a sex symbol there is always going to be rumors and questions about what is real or fake. People should refrain from making snap judgments though when they aren't aware of the facts. Not everyone with a nice body has done surgery, so that should never be the assumption. I've always projected a positive self image and will continue to inspire young girls to love themselves and always be confident regardless of their body type." Yanique stated via a press release.

Yanique was seen on Sunday at the BritJam event which she co-hosted with the internationally renowned china doll, Blac Chyna, and according to some Internet trolls, Yanique with her "fake breasts' looked more plastic that china doll.

There have been a slew of negative (and some positive) comments in ragards to Yanique's new-look breasts, but the diva is clearly not fazed.

"I don't mind being the centre of attention though so keep the positive and negative comments coming," the graduate of Seventh-day Adventist institution, NCU, stated.

Well, we are pretty sure the comments willl keep coming, as the release, along with pictures will only add fuel to the fire. A scroll through her Facebook page shows a July 12, 2014 with the caption: "The black is when I was 19 I think and the other is now in my 20's #boobylicious."

Steven 'Stevie' Chang, the sound system selector who was shot during a robbery attempt at a bar in Manchester in January, succumbed to gunshot wounds injuries lastThursday.

His passing was announced via a post on the sound system Facebook page.

"It is with deepest regret that we inform you all of the passing of Steven Chang. We, the Black Kat family, wish to express condolences to his family at this time. He is surely missed by fans and friends across the world. He was one of the greatest disc jockeys. His work and memories live on," the post read.

Atlanta radio personality Mikey Sparkle, has started the wheels turning for a tribute event - Tribute to the Iconic Winston 'Merritone' Blake - scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 26 at C&J Hideaway, in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Winston Blake was a tremendous influence on me; I had the pleasure of working with him on numerous occasions. I really admired his passion for music, his knowledge of music was excellent. He was a great mentor and friend," said Mikey Sparkle.

A number of popular DJs are booked for the event, including Winston Blake's brother Monty 'Merritone' Blake, DJ Migrane, DJ Cold Rice and Paul Abrahams. All proceeds from the event will go to Winston Blake's family.

"This party is going to be a blast. I want a lot of people to come out on the 26th and have a great time as we salute this great man. There's no set admission for the event, we are asking patrons to kindly make a donation. All the money raised from the event will go to Mr Blake's family," said Sparkle.

Winston Merritone Blake died at the University Hospital of the West Indies, St Andrew on February 27.

Effective Monday, the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) will begin charging General Consumption Tax (GCT) on all services it provides as part of instructions issued from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to the Government of Jamaica.

A newspaper advertisement said the BSJ is now a registered taxpayer.

Among the services offered by the BSJ are laboratory testing and product certification.

Dr. Winston Davidson, BSJ Chairman, said the multi-laterals raised concern about what they considered an anomaly in the operations of the BSJ.

"The Ministry of Finance, through the World Bank project, has decided to charge the Bureau of Standards GCT on all transactions. That has caused an increase in the budget by millions of dollars. There is no increase in the profit margin to the Bureau, just that it has dug into our budget by nearly over $20 million, this never happened before but since the iMF conditions require that, we just have to comply with that," he said.

A major crisis is looming on the already sick public healthcare sector amid reports that more nurses are being recruited for overseas jobs.

According to the president of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) Janet Coore Farris, more nurses likely to leave the island next month, when British recruiters arrive.

The current atio of one nurse to 40 patients in some health facilities in Jamaica is in stark contrast to the international standard of one nurse to five patients, she explained, adding that the situation will worsen. These registered nurses "don't even have to have their degree in nursing; they will just have to have a certificate," she said.

Such is the extent of the demand for these nurses, she elaborated, that they will not need to have specialist training, just experience working in the particular area.

Mrs Coore Farr said the United States, Canada and England are interested in Jamaican nurses because they are well trained.

Furthermore, she said, Jamaican nurses are eager to take up jobs overseas because of the improved salaries.

"They are going to be paying them anywhere between L36,000 to L40,000... and that... works out to be anywhere between six-point-something (Jamaican) dollars to seven-point-two million dollars a year. So, we really do have a crisis on our hands," she declared.

Billboard recording artist Sean Paul has collaborated with Canadian chanteuse Sielle to make an "Easy Mistake" which is impacting radio and causing a stir in parties!

The duo teamed in the studio in Jamaica with the goal of giving fans an infectious song that they will sing along to, while introducing the young starlet, Sielle, to an international audience. The collaboration resulted in a certified banger which is being loved by all who hear it.

With ingredients that include a crossover Dancehall rhythm, Sielle's silky smooth voice and sweet lyrics to compliment perfect melodies and harmonies, both Sean Paul and Sielle are winning fans who not only appreciate the two working together, they also appreciate the concept of the song! "We've all done it at some point in time" says Sielle, "we've all fallen in love with a person which turned out to be a mistake, so this song is about moving on from this mistake!"

Produced by the hit-makers Matthew 'Esco' Thompson; 957 Muzik and Smokin Acez Media, "Easy Mistake" is on track to be the summer anthem and have the season buzzing. The song, written by Sielle, was welcomed by Sean Paul as a project to work on. Impressed with the young vocalist, Sean has high hopes for the song as it is one that most people can relate to.

Although Sielle's sound is characterized as alternative soul; the collaboration with Sean Paul has allowed her a chance to tap into her Jamaican roots to deliver a masterpiece. "I want to touch people with my music, my music is a dairy, what I feel, what I have been feeling throughout my life," explains Sielle with hopes of changing lives through her music.

However, working with Sean Paul on Easy Mistake, has had a major impact on Sielle. This collaboration has allowed her to go into her Jamaican roots with all of her life's experience as an artist to deliver a masterpiece.

He was sentenced by Fort Bend District Judge Maggie Jaramillo to five years of probation plus five days in jail, according to ABC 13. Aside from his time in jail, Fortune would also have to do 175 hours of community service and undergo a "batterer's intervention" programme. He is also prohibited from going anywhere near his wife.

His wife wishes Fortune would learn something valuable out of his time in prison. "I hope in all of this you get help. Serious help. Although this probation might be like a slap on the wrist, I hope you look at it as a moment to better yourself and change something within you for your future," Cheryl wrote in a note that was read in court.

She reportedly agreed to the plea deal this time around because she did not want to let her three kids go through the stressful journey of the trial, nor did she want any of them to testify against their own father.

When sought for comment, Fortune declined to give any as he walked out of court. His mother, on the other hand, insisted that he was not guilty but would not elaborate on her statement.

Investigators said Fortune, who sang "We Give You Glory" and "I Believe," hit his wife using a wooden vanity stool, kicked her, then threw her against a wall inside their Stafford home one night back in October 2014.

This was not the first time that Fortune accepted a plea deal. Back in 2002, he took six years of probation after scalding his four-year-old son in hot water. Even though Fortune claimed it was a form of discipline, investigators argued that it wasn't since 40 percent of his son's body was scalded. Yet, this is not Fortune's first brush with the law.

Lawsuit documents stated that in 2001 James Fortune burned his 4-year-old step son, leaving the boy with scarring of 2nd and 3rd degree burns on nearly half of his body. His wife Cheryl was also named in the lawsuit. After picking up his stepson from pre-school and hearing from the teacher that he was acting up in class, Fortune verbally scolded the boy, the suit said. He then prepared a [scalding] hot bath for the boy. The lawsuit also says Fortune told the boy to take off his clothes and [proceeded] to whip the boy before pushing the toddler into the bath and holding him underwater.

In 2003, James Fortune plead guilty to felony injury to a child and received 6 years deferred adjudication.

The biological father [sued] for $5 million in order to take care of the boy's continued plastic surgery.

AlwaysAList.com reports that Fortune attributed the allegations by his wife's ex as "an attack on his 'increased profile and financial viability' and contested the matter in civil court."

Foundation deejay Screwdriver was arrested following his attack on a woman with a cane.

According to police reports Dalton Lindo aka Screwdriver known for his most popular song 'Sharon A pregnant yuh pregnant (No Mama) is in jail after attacking the woman and several police officers with a ski pole while shouting 'Shoot me!"

The Margate, Florida police informed that the woman in question reported being hit in the neck with a cane by a man who had been following her about 10:45 am Sunday in the 6400 block of Winfield Boulevard.

Screwdriver was spotted by police officers and his reaction was to threaten them even as he dared them to shoot him. He rode away but was eventually caught on Kimberly Boulevard in North Lauderdale.

He reportedly struck and attempted to stab several officers with the ski pole as he was being taken into custody, according to police. Some of them suffered minor injuries and were treated and released from Northwest Medical Center, detectives said.

He has been charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding a police officer, resisting an officer with violence, and possession of marijuana, records showed. He remained in jail Monday.

The Court of Justice in Curacao has sentenced former prime minister Gerrit Schotte to three years imprisonment after he was found guilty of bribery, forgery and money laundering charges.

The court also ruled that his long-time partner, Cicely van der Dijs, be sentenced to 18 months in prison.

In addition, the court Friday said that the former Curacao prime minister cannot participate as a candidate in any elections for the period of five years.

Schotte, the leader of the MFK party, was appointed the country's first prime minister in October 2010, He served for two years before members of his own administration quit and formed a new government. Schotte labelled the move as coup sponsored by The Hague.

Ben Carson, the former pediatric neurosurgeon who dropped out of the Republican presidential race last week, endorsed Donald Trump on Friday, praising his "guts" and "energy."

"There are two different Donald Trumps," Carson said at the billionaire's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. "There's the one you see on the stage and there's the one who is very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully. You can have a very good conversation with him. That's the Donald Trump that you're going to start seeing more and more of."

Trump agreed with that assessment.

"I probably do agree. There's the public version ... it seems to have worked over my lifetime," he said. "I think it's different than the personal one."

Moments later, though, Trump seemed to reject that idea.

"I don't think there are two Donald Trumps. I think there's one Donald Trump," he said.

When asked about Trump's past criticisms of his candidacy, Carson said, "We buried the hatchet. That was political stuff."

"We move on," he added.

Trump gave a rambling speech in Iowa in November in which he called Carson a "pathological" liar and compared it to child molestation.

"If you're a child molester, there's no cure, they can't stop you. Pathological, there's no cure." Trump said at the time.

Carson said on Friday that he opposed to efforts within the Republican Party to derail Trump's candidacy.

"What I have seen recently is political operatives ... trying to thwart the will of the people," Carson said. "I want the political process to play out."

The Medical Officer of Health for Clarendon, Dr Kimberly Scarlett Campbell, has reported that the parish has recorded three suspected cases of the Influenza A or H1N1 Virus.

The cases which were recorded in February are yet to be confirmed as lab results are still outstanding.

However, Dr Scarlett Campbell reported to the Clarendon Parish Council at its monthly sitting yesterday that there has been an increase in the number of undifferentiated cases of flu in the parish and she believes this is due to the H1N1 virus.

She noted that the Clarendon health department is aware of the threat of the H1N1 and is reporting that there is sufficient medication available to treat suspected high risk cases.

Additionally she said the parish will be hiring a public health inspector who will be responsible for inspecting institutions such as schools, police stations and lock-ups to ensure adherence to prevention and control standards.

As a preventative measure, the Medical officer said the health department has embarked on a massive immunisation programme for its frontline healthcare workers at hospitals and health centers as they are seen as a high risk group.

Tennis' now-disgraced golden girl, Maria Sharapova has been branded "reckless beyond description" by Dick Pound, the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

According to Pound, Maria Sharapova wasamid revelations the Russian was warned five times in December to stop using Meldonium.

Sharapova was contacted on three occasions by the International Tennis Federation and twice by the Women's Tennis Association with warnings Meldonium would be outlawed from January 1.The alerts were sent to all players.

The former world champion continued to use the drug, apparently unaware it had been placed on the banned list after failing to properly open email links.Her ignorance drew sharp condemnation from Pound who says she has no excuses for the failed test.

"Running a $30 million business depends on you staying eligible to play tennis," Pound said.

"You are taking something on a (banned) list. I am sorry, that is a big mistake - of course she should have known.

"She is taking something that is not generally permitted in her country of residence (US) for medical purposes, so she says, so there must be a doctor following this.

"Anytime there is a change to the list, notice is given on 30 September prior to the change. You have October, November, December to get off what you are doing.

"All the tennis players were given notification of it and she has a medical team somewhere. That is reckless beyond description."

Several of Sharapova's former sponsors including Nike and Porsche have distanced themselves from the Russian who retains the support of many of her rivals, including world no.1 Serena Williams.

Pound meanwhile laid into the 28 year old amid uncertainty over whether she had registered use of Meldonium on paperwork accompanying drug testing.

According to Pound "A drug like this over a long period of time is contraindicated. It means you would not take it over a long period of time.

"That is why there was an urge to put the drug on the list. A lot of people were taking it for performance enhancing.

"Most of the drugs of choice for dopers were built for therapeutic reasons - like EPO and others.

"That was supposed to regenerate blood if you had cancer treatment or surgical intervention if you needed to increase blood supply.

"Someone has said: 'Hmm, more oxygen in the blood? Hmm, very interesting. Let's see if we can use it for that purpose.'

"There is a side effect to every drug, somebody must be monitoring this."

Sharapova faces a ban of up to four years, however several tennis identities believe, with a successful defence, the suspension could be as brief as four to six months.

The LASCO/ Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Police Officer of the Year 2016-2017 will be selected from a crop of fine gentlemen officers.

The final 12 are: Sgt. Gladstsone Sealy from Area 1; Cons. Chadwin Headlam from Area 2; Cons. Shevaughn Andre Gossett Reid from Area 3; Sgt. Kidan McKoy from Area 4; Det/Cons. Dameian Haye from Area 5; Cpl. Selvin Joseph Smith from the National Police College of Jamaica; Sgt. Nickoyn Brown from Personnel; Cpl. Denton Daniel Gordon from Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime; Cons. Dameian Johnson from Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency; Sgt. Lloyd Washington Jones from the Inspectorate of Constabulary; Cons. Odaine Williams from Company 3; and Cpl. Kimaryo Pinnock from Motorized Patrol.

This year's LASCO Top Cop entrants have all complied with the new standards of filing statutory declaration and other obligations, as well as being compliant with the JCF. In addition, nominees were required to have served the JCF for at least five years and have a strong work ethic and communication skills. The participants were also considered based on professionalism, knowledge of, not only the policies and procedures governing the JCF, but local and international affairs.

The evaluation continues with a Week of Activities scheduled from March 6-10. These five days will truly serve as a small taste of the work and role of a LASCO Top Cop. This Year's Finalists will participate in a Youth Project Day on Monday, March 7 with a Peace March and Football Competition. The march will start at the Kingston YMCA and end at the JCF Community Safety and Security Branch on Ruthven Road.

The 2016-17 LASCO/JCF Police Officer of the Year will receive the coveted LASCO/JCF Champion Trophy along with a $250,000 cash prize; the first and second runner-ups will also receive a trophy and a $200,000 and $100,000 cash prize respectively.

Detective Sergeant Lindo will pass on the duties as LASCO/JCF Police Officer of the Year at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, March 30 at the Jamaica Pegasus.

US-based artiste A'Mari is hailing the lip-locking and wukka man skills of the new man in her life, Gully Bop.

A'Mari said that people who focus on Gully Bop's appearance, including his lack of teeth, have no idea on how genuine and caring a person he is.

"There's more to him than his appearance. He has a soft touch, and while other men would take long for me to climax, when Gully touches me, I instantly reach a climax. It's like fire when he touches my body," she told a newspaper in Jamaica.

"People don't know that he cries a lot, he breaks down a lot because he is a sensitive person. He cries for the homeless and the poor. He's a good man," she said.

"A lot of people didn't even know that he was sleeping on the floor and I got him an apartment. I couldn't be using him because I have been helping him in the few weeks that we've been together. In fact, we're gonna be moving in together when I get back to Jamaica.We are the Jay-Z and BeyoncE of Jamaica right now."

Though her family has not yet been made aware of the relationship, A'mari does not foresee them having a problem with the union. In fact, she believes that Gully Bop is an even better fit than her previous boyfriend, who she says was mistreating her.

"Gully Bop is like a precious gem. At first, I really didn't see him as my type, but now, I feel like our love can last forever. It's unconditional. Gully Bop is my man," she said.

Ironically, A'Mari stated that she has never dated someone from the industry, as they are too scandalous.

"I hate them. I can't take the drama. But, Gully is a sweetheart. I don't know if he has two sides. Maybe I haven't seen the other side yet. He is special. I definitely see us lasting a long time," she told.

Jamaican model, Alexia Palmer, has brought a lawsuit against Donald Trump's modelling agency, in which she has claimed US$225,000 (approximately J$27.3 million) back pay.A United States judge will this month determine whether or not to proceed with the case.

According to a report by Reuters, Palmer, in a suit filed in October 2014, is accusing Trump Model Management LLC, which is owned by the US Republican presidential candidate, of lying to the federal government in its work-visa application that said she would be paid a US$75,000-a-year salary while living in the United States.

Reuters reports that based on court documents, Palmer only received a total of US$3,880.75 during the three years she was under contract with the agency. Palmer alleges "fraudulent misrepresentation" and violations of U.S. immigration and labour laws.

Lawyers representing Trump have called the case "frivolous" and "without merit." They claim the Jamaican was not an employee and was more than adequately compensated for a "very brief stint as a fashion model," which they claim amounted to less than 10 days of work over three years.

Blac Chyna, who turned heads yet again as she modeled a skimpy red bikini that showed off her tattoos.The curvy 27-year-old also announced she was jetting off to Jamaica. No word on whether or not her boyfriend Rob Kardashian will be joining her.

It will be another business trip for Blac, who has been busy making appearances at clubs all around the world as of late. Blac will be appearing on Sunday at the music festival Brit Jam 2016, dubbed on its Facebook page as 'the largest Spring Break Festival in the Caribbean.'

Chyna has been dating Rob for the past two months, and things quickly became serious between the pair. The pair went public with their romance at the beginning of the year and after being a recluse since quitting his famous family's TV series in 2013, Rob has returned to the spotlight.

However, on Sunday, the sock entrepreneur was forced to deny that they had ended things after he deleted all pictures of them together from his Instagram account.

Rob shared a picture which showed him kissing Chyna's cheek as he explained that they wanted more privacy.

The star wrote: 'Chy and I are not broken up we just feel like it would be a lot healthier for our relationship if we kept a lot more to ourselves.

'It's impossible to have a positive relationship with so much negativity from the media and outsiders and we would appreciate it if everyone respects that.'

Over the last few weeks, a number of carjacking incidents have plagued the capital city, Kingston. Late Tuesday night, a young couple was carjacked on Beechwood Avenue causing them to flee for their safety.

Only last week, a member of the diplomatic corp was confronted by a man in the middle of the street forcing him to stop the car while two other men jumped into the back seat and tried to overpower him.

A struggle ensued as the assailants attempted to make off with the vehicle.

In February a prominent architect was also carjacked with young men also jumping into the back seat demanding money and taking away his firearm. In this instant, the carjackers acquired his details and demanded he meet with them with a sum of money to recover said firearm.

The architect died subsequently from unrelated circumstances.

More recently, an elderly member of a prominent business family was carjacked in Jacks Hill where demands were made for money.

Again last month, three young women making their way home from a soca party stopped at a traffic light in the Holborn Road vicinity only for three men to jump into the back of the car and demand that the keys to the vehicle and money be given to them. The incident was reported to the police.

Back in January, a head of a prominent security company was carjacked on Old Hope Road. The trap set, saw him being distracted by a man stepping in front of the vehicle while two others jumping into the back seat demanding money and the keys to the car.

Superintendent Jacqueline Green of Constant Spring Police Station, responsible for St Andrew North Division said: "We regard carjacking as a form of robbery and in most cases the criminals see something in the car that they want such as the driver's fancy jewellery, a computer bag or high-end smartphone.

They tend to employ a technique whereby they bump into the victim's vehicle and as the driver goes to investigate, he/she gets robbed."

"If a driver should suspect a carjacking will take place, he or she should drive into a well-lit area or pull into the nearest police station. Always ensure that your car doors are locked and the windows are up; particularly the rear windows. Don't display or leave valuables in your car. Look alert and be extra careful when pulling up or stopping at intersections and stoplights," she said.

Cuba's state newspaper said Wednesday US President Barack Obama will be warmly welcomed when he makes a historic visit later this month, but warned him not to expect political concessions.

"The US leader will be welcomed by the government of Cuba and its people with the hospitality that distinguishes them and will be treated with all consideration and respect," official daily Granma said in an editorial.

But it hastened to add: "No one can harbor the slightest doubt about Cuba's unconditional adherence to its revolutionary and anti-imperialist ideals."

Obama will visit the island March 21 and 22 -- the first visit by a US president since Calvin Coolidge in 1928, and a symbolically charged capstone to the rapprochement that he and Cuban leader Raul Castro announced in December 2014.

Before announcing the visit, Obama had insisted he would only travel to Cuba if the communist government made progress on reforms in areas such as human rights.

But Granma warned him not to be a pushy guest, quoting Castro himself as saying: "We will not allow ourselves to be pressured on our internal affairs. We have won this sovereign right with great sacrifices."

The editorial reiterated the Castro government's demands for the United States to return the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, end its more than 50-year-old embargo on Cuba, and fully normalize ties in areas such as immigration.

Obama's Republican opponents accuse him of betraying the cause of human rights in Cuba by engaging with the Castro regime.

Cuesta said a softer touch would ease doubts and encourage those who believe the country should move in the direction of greater rights but are wary of Washington's intentions.

Since taking over nearly a decade ago from his older brother Fidel, the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution, Raul Castro has slowly opened up the Cuban economy. But the political system is still completely dominated by the regime, and dissidents regularly face crack-downs and arrest.

World 100m and 200m record holder Usain Bolt is expected to hit the track sometime in May according to his coach Glen Mills

Speaking after the launch of the Racers Grand Prix a short while ago at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Mills confirmed that Bolt will have several races before he participates in his club's Grand Prix.

"Usain will definitely compete in May but as to the actual date and time I am not able to say at this time" he said.

As to Bolt's preparation, Mills said: "I am happy with how he is progressing at this time."

'I killed him because he tried to rape me'; note found at slain teacher's house

"I killed him because he tried to rape me" is the note allegedly found at the house of slain St James High English Language teacher Dexter Dacres. Condoms and lubricants were also said to be found in the English language teacher's bedroom.

Reports are that Dacres, 53, who lived alone was last seen on Saturday in the company of a boy who he said was a relative of his, residents report.

Dacres' decomposing body was discovered at his home in New Haven Heights, Granville, Trelawny Tuesday morning.

Miles Brown is 11 years old, a young actor who landed his first big break on the ABC sitcom Black-ish as the character of Jack Johnson. He is also a hip-hop dancer, having been a semi-finalist on America's Got Talent.

Q: How did you get started in entertainment?A: Well I was dancing before I was acting. Then a friend asked if I wanted to do an episode of this TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba!. So I did the show. I was on there dancing, and I technically didn't realize it but I was also acting on there as well. After that, slowly but surely over time it just converted to acting from dance and I love it. I do still love to dance, but I really love acting.

Q: Who did you watch growing up that made you want to dance and perform?A: Definitely Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson made me want to be a dancer and even James Brown. As far as acting, Robert Downey Jr. has easily been my biggest acting inspiration.

Q: How did Blackish end up happening for you?A: My first audition was the normal one where one of the producers interviews you in front of a camera. They must have liked me because they gave me a call back. The call back was the craziest audition that I ever did because all the cast was there. Everyone was there including the execuitive producer and creator, Kenya Barris. It was fun, but also nerve-wrecking, but they liked me. What's crazy is another show, one for Kevin Hart, wanted me at the same time as "that Anthony Anderson project", which is the non-title it had when I auditioned. So the shows had a small fight over me and how it was decided I'd do Blackish was both shows gave my mom and dad a script of the pilot to see which they liked better. My parents thought both were funny, but that Blackish was more family-orientated.

Q: Who is the biggest practical joker on the set of the show?A: Me and Anthony, easily. We both like to pull pranks on everyone. I like to scare people. I'm always sneaking up behind people to catch them off-guard. Anthony likes to improv a lot. He's like the Improv King. He's really good at it and I don't know how he does it.

Q: Who is the most serious cast member that always brings you guys back to center to work?A: It's usually Jennifer Lewis. She's like the set diva. Whenever she wants the set to be quiet she'll give the word and then *snap* it's quiet and we're ready to go. She will shhh you fast *laughs*

Q: How does your on-set tutoring work?A: I still go to public school so my school teach usually sends my Blackish teacher all the work that I'm supposed to be doing then when I do it my Blackish teacher checks it and goes over with me so that when I'm not working and in regular school I don't fall behind.

Q: How is it being on a big television show and then going to school? Is it crazy for you at all?A: Not really. Everyone at school treats me like I was never on TV so that's really cool. What is crazy is I go to a charter school, but there is also a middle school connected to it. So the middle school kids do go crazy over me sometimes when they see me because I don't go there. But everyone at MY school treats me the same.

Q: Can you tell me a little about your work with Sleep Number and the #CommitToSleep campaign?A: Well it's a really great campaign all about helping kids to know how to get better sleep. I used to not get a lot of good sleep and it made things harder for me in the daytime. But now I get better sleep and it helps me so much. Like I have lots of energy in the daytime and everyone on set calls me "Party Time".

Q: What's something that you'd like to try or do outside of acting when you get older?A: I wanna play in the NBA when I grow up. I started playing basketball even before I was dancing. For me in order it's basketball, then dancing, then acting. I've been playing ever since I can remember. I've always wanted to be in the NBA like my favorite player, LeBron.

Several sponsors have dropped Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova after she admitted she had tested positive for a banned substance at January's Australian Open

The five-times Grand Slam champion dropped the bombshell at a press conference at a Los Angeles hotel, confessing she had been found to have taken Mildronate - or Meldonium - which was prohibited from January 1 this year.

As one insider pointed out, "She took a prescription heart drug even though she clearly doesn't have a heart condition because that doesn't go with being a professional athlete. She took the drug because it was a potential performance enhancer which is why it was eventually banned when the authorities realised that some athletes were using it. If had been a simple over the counter pick-me-up which had been legal for all that time, it wouldn't look suspicious, but taking a prescription drug that she didn't have a valid medical condition to take, makes it look like she was pushing the boundaries to take a drug that other tennis players wouldn't have free access to.

Although Sharapova claims that she did not know that the substance which she was taking for 10 years was banned, the organisation says that every athlete was informed. A memo was sent out to Russian athletes by Russia's anti-doping agency last September informing them of the decision to ban its use,the news was also published on Russian's anti doping agency website,and WADA's website and she was informed by the WTA. Sharapova, they say, got plenty of memos.

The banned drug is used clinically to treat myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure.

"I don't quite understand why she would use it for flu,magnesium deficiency and family history of diabetes which she actually doesn't have,and it's not even approved in the USA where she lives," an insider commented.

Meanwhile, just hours after her announcement that she was taking a performance enhancing drug for ten years, the 28-year-old Sharapova lost her most lucrative deal - an eight-year contract extended in 2010 for a reported $70million with sportswear brand Nike, where she has her own clothing line.

Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer followed suit, saying that its contract with Sharapova had expired at the end of 2015 and it has pulled out of negotiations on a new agreement. Another one of her major partners, Porsche, said that while they are 'certainly not dumping' Sharapova, they are currently 'not pursuing any further activities' with her.

The International Tennis Federation has confirmed the star will be provisionally suspended from the sport from March 12, however, despite this, the president of the Russian Tennis Federation has said he expects Sharapova to play in the Olympics in Brazil in August this year.

In a statement on Monday night, Nike said: 'We are saddened and surprised by the news about Maria Sharapova. We have decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues. We will continue to monitor the situation.'

Sharapova earns $30million a year in endorsements, according to Forbes. Current endorsements include American Express, Avon, Evian, Porsche.Avon said on Tuesday morning that they are not commenting on their contract with Sharapova, who is the face of their fragrance called Luck.

Four - six weeks normal course of treatment for Sharapova drug, not TEN years.

The Latvian company that manufactures meldonium says the normal course of treatment for the drug is four to six weeks - not the 10 years that Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova says she used the substance.

The five-time Grand Slam champion said Monday she failed a doping test at the Australian Open in January for meldonium, which became a banned substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code this year.

The former No. 1 said she had taken meldonium, a heart medicine which improves blood flow and is little-known in the U.S., for a decade following various health problems including regular sicknesses, early signs of diabetes and "irregular" results from echocardiography exams.

"I was first given the substance back in 2006. I had several health issues going on at the time," she said. Sharapova didn't specify whether she had used it constantly since then.

Meldonium was banned because it aids oxygen uptake and endurance, and several athletes in various international sports have already been caught using it since it was banned on Jan. 1. Latvian company Grindeks, which manufactures meldonium, told The Associated Press that four to six weeks was a common course.

"Depending on the patient's health condition, treatment course of meldonium preparations may vary from four to six weeks. Treatment course can be repeated twice or thrice a year," the company said in an emailed statement. "Only physicians can follow and evaluate patient's health condition and state whether the patient should use meldonium for a longer period of time."

Grindeks did not comment when asked whether someone with the symptoms Sharapova described would be a suitable patient for meldonium. The company said it was designed for patients with chronic heart and circulation conditions, those recovering from illness or injury and people suffering with "reduced working capacity, physical and psycho-emotional overload."

Meldonium is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The AP was able to buy vials and tablets of meldonium over the counter in Moscow on Tuesday. Accompanying documentation stated that side effects could include blood pressure changes, irregular heartbeat and skin conditions.

While meldonium was banned as of Jan. 1, the decision to ban it had been announced by WADA and sports organizations as early as September 2015. Sharapova said she received an email with information on the changes in December, but did not read the information at the time.

The Pepsi Winnin' Riddim competition is down to the wire and the last eight out of 120 talented contestants have made their way to the finals. They are set to duke it out on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at the University of Technology with 10 infectious, original riddims set to rock the house.

The lucky eight, plus five wild cards, will showcase their work at the Alfred Sangster auditorium in the ultimate "Riddim play-off" as they compete for a slew of exciting top prizes.

According to O'neil Walters, Chief Executive Officer of Sretlaw Media Company- Executive Producers and conceptualizers of the competition, the grand finale will not only showcase the competing beats but will feature full blown entertainment performances around every riddim. "You will be seeing the beats come to life around music and dance as each riddim will be accompanied by some level of recording as well as a dance created to complement the piece."

The competition has two categories - the Club Tour - for 18- 35 year olds and the School Tour - for 13-17 year olds. Five contestants from each category will vie in a "beat-off" to walk away with top prizes of an Apple Macbook Pro complete with beat-making software valued at over $300,000; while one lucky contestant will receive a $150,000 scholarship from Excelsior Community College School of the Performing Arts.

Also up for grabs is a record producing contract with a major music production house.

Marketing Manager at Pepsi, Mitchell Watson, says he's very pleased with not only the quality work produced by the entrants but the support received from some the island's leading musicians and producers since the competition was launched on January 28, 2016.

Viewers can watch the show LIVE on FLOW TV or via live Stream on Pepsi's Facebook Page, Winnin Riddim's Facebook Page or 90 degrees LIVE on Saturday, March 12 , 2016 beginning at 9:00 p.m.

Accident-prone deejay, Gully Bop was involved in an accident last weekend, when he says the brakes on his vehicle failed, as he was negotiating a corner.

Gully Bop narrowly escaped serious injury after a motor vehicle accident in Montego Bay, St James over the weekend.The entertainer said that the accident was caused when his brakes failed while he was negotiating a hill.

"Mi just glad say no one was injured, it wasn't a big accident, a vehicle brake up before me, and when mi go fi brake, mi find say mi caan stop, so mi spin outta da vehicle de, and find miself ah head towards the gully, so mi clap back on the road and see the Honda Civic ah head on," he said.

"The people dem inna the vehicle start fret when dem see the head on, but mi say 'don't panic' cause mi know mi skill, so mi just bite it in between the two vehicle dem, and then mi click click the emergency brake till mi vehicle come to a stop down the hill. Ah skill mi skill why the accident never more serious," he said.

"Mi shoot a video Saturday night till Sunday morning with A'mari, and then head down to Montego Bay. It was a close one, the whole ah the man Honda Civic rip up, mi talk to him but ah insurance haffi go fix fi him car," said Gully Bop at the scene of the accident.

There have also been reports from eyewitnesses at the scene that the driver of Honda Civic was badly shaken up from the accident. Gully Bop, and his former fiancee Chin Chin, have been involved in numerous motor vehicle accidents over the past year.

Although the three teen alleged directly involved in the stabbing death of reggae singer Luciano's son, Menelik McClymont, are in custody, the perceived mastermind is still walking free.

Although the family is pleased that the police have charged the three, they are angry that another suspect, the one who allegedly drove the getaway vehicle has not been charged. Reports are that the fourth suspect is the one with whom Menelik had the argument, and was the one who commissioned the other three men to carry out the deadly attack

According to reports, "He and Menelik got into an argument and he left and came back with three other guys. I get to understand that he wasn't involved in the actual stabbing, but he was the owner of the getaway car, and he was the one who drove the guys away from the scene."

An evening tabloid has reported that a grieving Luciano noted that even though the fourth suspect might not have had a part in the actual stabbing, he should also be charged for his part in the act.

"I would feel better if he was charged," he expressed.

"He went for these guys and we can't allow him to get away with this. It is safer for everyone if he is brought to justice because I don't want this to happen to anybody else's child, and I don't want anything to happen to him and people say is me send people to harm him. A lot of people are hurt by this and are thinking of retaliating. I have to be telling people to remain calm because I am not about revenge, I am about justice."

McClymont, 19, died on Sunday, February 28, as a result of stab wounds he received the previous day at the Parkington Plaza in St Andrew after concluding classes at Maths Unlimited.

Dancehall King Moses Beenie Man Davis is a proud dad and is sharing the moment with fans.

His daughter, Crystal, whom he shares with Dancehall Queen Carlene, is getting ready for gradution from prestigious high school Hillel Academy, in St Andrew. Ahead of the big day, as is the norm, the pictures are taken of the upcoming graduates in their gowns, and it was one of these that Beenie shared with his fans on Twitter.

Looking very poised and grown up in her graduation gown and cap, with her make-up expertly done, presumably by her mom, Carlene, is the beautiful Crystal Davis.

"So proud of this beautiful young lady Ms. Crystal Davis," said Beenie Man of his 17 year-old daughter, who is also an athlete.

Investigators are trying to determine whether a contract was taken out on the life of Karetha Robinson, the National Commercial Bank employee who was abducted and killed last week.

A senior investigator told RJR News that detectives are following several leads.

The body of the 43 year old banker was found on Friday in Pembroke Hall, St. Andrew, hours after she was abducted from her home in Greater Portmore, St. Catherine. The body had a bullet wound to the neck.

Her stolen Toyota Rav4 was intercepted by a security team along Hilary Avenue in St. Andrew.

Two men fled from the vehicle, and are still being sought by the police.

The police have reportedly located the American woman who went missing in Montego Bay, St James on Saturday.

She is said to be in good health.

Police on Monday reported that 32-year-old Aaren Meckling, a citizen of the United States of America, was vacationing at a resort on Kent Avenue in Montego Bay and was last seen leaving the resort about 2:00 pm the day she went missing.

They have not released details of her whereabouts, or if she did, in fact, go missing, or was just hanging out with friends.

Although investigators have declared that Justice Antonin Scalia had died of natural causes and that there was no foul play involved, mystery continues to shroud his death amid the unusual circumstances before and during the discovery of his body.

The highly respected 79-year-old U.S. Supreme Court associate justice was found dead in his resort hotel room at Cibolo Creek Ranch in Texas on Saturday, WND reported.

According to Houston businessman and ranch owner John Poindexter, Scalia was "animated and engaged" during dinner Friday night. He was one of Poindexter's 36 guests that day.

Speaking to the San Antonio Express-News, Poindexter said, "Scalia was seated near me and I had a chance to observe him. He was very entertaining. But about 9 p.m. he said, 'It's been a long day and a long week, I want to get some sleep.'"

Poindexter said he knocked on Scalia's door at about 8:30 the next morning. The door was locked and the judge did not answer. Three hours later, the ranch owner returned from an outing and found Scalia still had not come out of his room.

Poindexter then went to Scalia's room again, unlocked the door and "discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled."

"He was lying very restfully. It looked like he had not quite awakened from a nap," he said.

"His hands were sort of almost folded on top of the sheets," Poindexter told the New York Times. "The sheets weren't rumpled up at all."

He said Scalia did not have a pulse and his body was cold. After consulting with a doctor at a hospital in Alpine, Poindexter realised that resuscitation would be pointless.

Authorities in remote West Texas then contacted Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara who pronounced Scalia dead of natural causes even without seeing the body. She also decided not to order an autopsy.A second justice of the peace, who was called but couldn't get to Scalia's body in time, said she would have ordered an autopsy, according to WND.

However, Scalia's family reportedly refused to have the justice's body autopsied.

Guevara admitted that she pronounced Scalia dead by phone, without seeing his body, and just relied on the statements made by law enforcement officials at the scene who assured her "there were no signs of foul play."

She said she also talked to Scalia's physician in Washington, who said that the justice suffered from a host of chronic conditions.

However, Guevara denied a report by a Dallas TV station that quoted her as saying that Scalia had died of "myocardial infarction." In an interview with The Washington Post, she said she meant only that his heart had stopped.

It was just another morning in Cincinnati, Ohio for 29-year-old Charles Harrell when he was making his way back from a early morning coffee run. Filming his trip, Harrell recorded his interaction with police officer Baron Osterman, who can be seen trailing behind Harrell on a bicycle. Sharing that the police office asked if he "had a problem," Harrell noted that this was a normal occurrence in his hometown.

"This is what we have to go through in Cincinnati, harassment" he said. "You can't be a black man and enjoy your morning, because the police are going to harass you in Cincinnati, Ohio."

As the video continues to roll, Osterman approaches Harrell for allegedly crossing against the light. In response, Harrell admits that he was frightened by the officer's trailing of him, stating, "You were scaring me, sir. I don't know why you're following me anyway. You followed me all the way down the street." Osterman then demands that Harrell put his phone and coffee on the ground. Refusing to lay his objects down, Harrell instead offers his I.D., and the officer become physical, warning him: "Don't reach around." Harrell is pinned against the wall and handcuffed.

According to Cincinnati.com, this is not the first time Officer Osterman has been linked to the use of excessive force. He reportedly was involved in the death of a black man, Nathaniel Jones, in 2003 in a local White Castle restaurant. The Citizen Complaint Authority ruled that Osterman and his fellow officer James Pike used excessive force in subduing Jones in 2004. They were both cleared in 2008 and awarded financial compensation.

Harrell was arrested for a pedestrian violation, resisting arrest and possession of a small amount of marijuana. The police department released a statement saying that the incident was up for internal review. Watch the footage of the incident below:

A coroner's jury in Cayman, considering the death of a Jamaican couple two years ago, returned verdicts on Friday after hearing evidence about the couple's volatile and abusive relationship.

They found that 21 year-old Nichelle Anna-Kay Thomas died from multiple chop wounds and the manner of death was unlawful killing.

For 39 year-old Devon Roy Campbell, the jurors found that the cause of death was hanging. His death was ruled a suicide.

The jury of three men and four women heard evidence over three days.

Miss Thomas's body was found on February 9, 2014, in a closet at the Bodden Town home where she worked as a part-time helper.

The police found Mr. Campbell's body hanging from a tree in the back yard.

The couple reportedly met in Jamaica when Ms. Thomas was 17 and still in high school. She went to Cayman in May 2012 and lived with Mr. Campbell.

The jurors heard that Mr. Campbell was jealous and controlling, and various witnesses testified that they had heard him threaten to kill her, for various reasons, particularly if she tried to leave him.

Three 18 year-olds -- Nashlyn Morgan, Jerome Coombs and Kemanie Shaw -- have been charged in connection with last month's fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Menelik McClymont, the son of reggae artiste Luciano.

Jerome Coombs, and and Kemanie Shaw, both 18 year-old students, were charged on Friday.

Nashlyn Morgan, another 18-year-old, was also charged.

The three are to appear in court on Wednesday.

Mr. McClymont, who was a student of Maths Unlimited, was attacked and stabbed several times by a group of men at Parkington Plaza on February 27.

Thirty-eight-year-old Mark Grey, a medical doctor practising in Manchester, has been charged with grievous sexual assault and procuring abortion arising from a case in which he has been accused of impregnating a 12-year-old girl.

The allegations against him were that twice in 2014, the doctor had sex with the then 12-year-old child, who became pregnant on both occasions. It was alleged that the doctor aborted both pregnancies.

Further allegations were that on a third occasion, in 2015, the doctor again had sex with the minor, and again she became pregnant. The third pregnancy was reportedly aborted at a local hospital.

Attorney Hensley Williams, who appeared on Grey's behalf in court on Wednesday, said there was no forensic evidence to substantiate the crown's claims, and no independent witness to support the allegations against his client.

Williams, in his bail application, argued that the complainant, who is now 14 years old, is suffering from a mental illness. He said his client has denied the allegations which were made by the girl.

Dr Grey was granted bail in the Mandeville Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday in the sum of $200,000 with surety.

Her son Marvin took over as plaintiff following his mother's death in October 2015 at age 62.

Fox's attorneys said the jury verdict was the first such case among more than 1,000 nationally to result in a monetary award.

Ms Fox claimed to have used the the pharmaceutical giant's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for more than 35 years.

The lawsuit alleged that in an effort to boost sales, the company failed for decades to warn consumers that its talc-based products could cause cancer.

The jury said that Ms Fox was entitled to $10 million in actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages.

The jurors in the circuit court of St. Louis found Johnson & Johnson liable for fraud, negligence and conspiracy, according to the family's lawyers.

Deliberations lasted four hours, following a three-week trial.

However, Johnson & Johnson maintains that scientific evidence shows that talc - which is marketed for babies' bottoms - is safe.

The company said in a statement to Reuters: 'With over 100 years of use, few ingredients have the same demonstrated performance, mildness and safety profile as cosmetic talc.'

Ms Fox died of ovarian cancer in October 2015, at which time her son Marvin took over as a plaintiff in the case. The suit claimed that she used Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder (pictured) and Shower to Shower for over 35 years

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Ms Fox died of ovarian cancer in October 2015, at which time her son Marvin took over as a plaintiff in the case. The suit claimed that she used Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder (pictured) and Shower to Shower for over 35 years

A Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman also said last week that the New Jersey-based company was considering whether to appear the verdict.

Carol Goodrich, spokeswoman, said: 'We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers, and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial.

'We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence.'

In October 2013, a federal jury in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, found that plaintiff Deane Berg's use of Johnson & Johnson's body powder products was a factor in her developing ovarian cancer at age 49.

Holy Trinity Manning Cup footballer Jordan Foote has lost his battle with cancer.

Jamaican Schoolboy Football announced Foote's passing in a Facebook post on Saturday morning.

"SchoolBoy Football team would like to offer our condolences to the family of Holy Trinity high School player Jordan Foote who has lost the battle against cancer," the post said.

Foote had been diagnosed with bone cancer last summer and missed the entire 2015 schoolboy football season. His left leg was amputated five inches above the knee in November, with several organisations donating money towards helping to pay for the surgical procedure on the youngster.

However, Foote's football coach Devon Anderson reported last month that the cancer had worsened and indicated that the situation was dire.

"We just have to hope for the best but expect the worst, and know if the inevitable comes, it comes, but I hope it doesn't come for now," Anderson, the coach of Holy Trinity's Manning Cup team, said.

Foote was an outstanding player for Holy Trinity before being diagnosed with the disease last summer, helping the team reach the Super Cup finals in 2014. In an interview with Loop News in November, he expressed confidence that he would one day play football again.

A 29-year-old woman who was pregnant with twinsreportedly died of the H1N1 virus, popularly called Swine Flu, at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

The woman is the fourth swine-flu related death in Jamaica since cases of the virus were first reported locally in early February, 2016.

A medical doctor, 50-year-old Suzanna Roye, who had also been hospitalised at the UHWI, was the first patient to die from H1N1-related issues in Jamaica. A 49-year-old woman, who had other illnesses, died a week later, followed by an 84-year-old woman days later.

The virus has been classified as a category one illness, which requires medical practitioners to notify the relevant public health authority within 24 hours of suspecting a case of severe acute respiratory illness.

Surgical oncologist Professor Michael Baum, of University College London, specialises in breast cancer treatment, and was one of the architects of the screening programme when it was set up in 1988.

More than 25 years later, he has called for the programme to be shut down, arguing it leads to healthy women being labelled 'cancer victims' and has not reduced the number of invasive tumours.

But Dr Michael Michell, a consultant radiologist based at King's College Hospital, insists cancer screening saves lives and would like to see women screened every two, rather than three, years.

Below, they lay out their arguments on whether or not the programme should be scrapped.

Michael Baum, Professor Emeritus of Surgery and visiting Professor of Medical Humanities in University College London, is a British surgical oncologist who specialises in breast cancer treatment.

Back in 1998, in all good faith, I set up the service for the NHS Breast Screening Programme.

Since then, I have become one of the most vociferous proponents for closing it down.

You probably want to know why I changed my mind so completely.

At the heart of this is the question, how do you explain to a woman that she is 'lucky' that we caught breast cancer early yet she ends up having a mastectomy?

And that she probably wouldn't have needed treatment at all if we hadn't called her in for a routine scan?

This is because mammograms can pick up a type of low-grade breast cancer called duct carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is contained just in the milk ducts and has not spread into any of the surrounding breast tissue - about 60 per cent of DCIS cases are picked up by routine breast screening.

Around half of these cancers turn out to be harmless. It is my view that too many healthy women are harmed by breast cancer screening.

Healthy Women Labelled Cancer Victims

Unlike most of the other members of the National Committee, I was directly involved in the day to day care of those women referred on to me as a consequence of the activities on the front line of the screening program.

I found it very distressing to have to cope with otherwise well women who had popped into the screening unit in Butterfly Walk for a mammogram at the invitation of the Department of Health (DoH) and then found themselves labelled as a cancer victim.

Worst of all were the unexpected high numbers diagnosed with duct carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a condition we rarely saw before screening began.

Many of these cases were multifocal and ended up with a mastectomy, yet they may well have turned out to be harmless.

None of the Department of Health staffers or public health specialists on the National committee had to face the reality of these heart-breaking interviews.

We were soon to learn that 20 per cent of the cancers diagnosed in Butterfly Walk were DCIS, yet before we opened our doors they amounted to less than one per cent of our practice.

I drew short term comfort from this observation assuming that in the fullness of time this initial peak in the incidence of DCIS would be followed by a fall in the incidence of invasive breast cancer.

"I feel great. I am happy that I was able to just let go and do it. I am not perfect but at the end of the day we have to learn to give God everything," is how much-loved actress Camille Davis describes her recent baptism.

"It's been something, that I've been avoiding. I wanted to do it a couple years now and I kept putting it off. But God has been speaking to my heart and I couldn't put it off any longer," she is reported as saying.

"Ryan Mark reached out to me and told me that the Lord is calling me and you know, it kinda brought tears to my eyes because that is what I have been feeling, I've been feeling the need to give my life to God," the bubbly Davis said.

She explained that her pastor, Ryan Mark was not the only one to reach out to her but for some reason other persons were coming to her with the same message.

"Different people kept coming up to me and asking,'are you a Christian?' I felt somehow that I was being sanctioned and this was God saying, stop ignoring me. It has never happened so intensely and so consistently before," she explained.

Reggae artiste Luciano has postponed his upcoming tour of the United Kingdom following the murder of his son in Half Way Tree, St Andrew, on Saturday.

Eighteen year-old, Menelik McClymont, was stabbed and killed by a group of boys from uptown and their friends from the ghetto, outside his school at the Parkington Plaza.

In a release, Luciano's management expressed regret that the tour had to be postponed but said the singer was deeply affected by the tragedy.

"Even though Luciano still, initially wanted to fulfil the obligations of doing the tour, the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of his son has really affected him and so we are forced to postpone all shows until further notice," the release stated.

Luciano however assured his fans that he would be rescheduling all dates and would eventually fulfil his contractual obligations.

The St Lucia Tourist Board is pulling out all stops for this year's Jazz and Arts Festiva, which runs from April 29 to May 8, 2016.

Now in its 25th year, the festival, which has evolved to incorporate an arts component with fashion and a marketplace for St Lucian artisans, would feature artistes to suit every taste.

For the youth, there will be Jamaican stars Shaggy and Omi, for the not so young: George Benson, Kool and the Gang and Air Supply, and for the lovers of Latin music, Marc Anthony will headline the event while Kassav will satisfy the souls of the creole music lovers.

One of the few regional festivals that promote real jazz, St Lucia will be going back to its jazz roots in a big way with artistes such as guitarist Ronald "Boo" Hinkson, Donald Harrison Jnr, jazz guitarist Chris Standring, musical group BWB and child prodigy, pianist Joey Alexander, among others.

Representatives from the St Lucia Tourist Board were in Trinidad last night at the National Museum where they unveiled the line up for this year with promises of more names to be released.

Bobbi Kristina Brown died from a combination of alcohol, drugs and drowning - but it's still unclear whether her death was murder, suicide or an accident.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office in Atlanta released a statement Friday morning - on what would have been Bobbi Kristina's 23rd birthday - about her death as it prepares to release the full autopsy report.

According to the statement, Bobbi Kristina died of lobar pneumonia, which was caused by the combination of drugs found in her system, drowning and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy - a neurological condition resulting from a lack of oxygen to the brain.

The 22-year-old only daughter of singers Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta town house on January 31, 2015, and died in hospice care on July 26 after spending months in a coma.

The office says it reviewed medical records, investigative files and other documents to determine how Bobbi Kristina likely died. The medical examiner's office says marijuana and alcohol were involved in the death, along with medications used for sedation or to treat anxiety.

They also said the autopsy alone could not reveal the underlying cause of death because of the long interval between Brown being found unresponsive in the bathtub and her eventual death. They also do not say if it was an accident or not - leaving questions about her boyfriend Nick Gordon's possible role in her death up in the air.

Her death was 'clearly not due to natural causes', but they can't tell if it was due to intentional or accidental causes, and the coroner classified the manner of death 'undetermined'.

Jamaica's new prime minister, Andrew Holness, will receive a basic salary of $7.3 million, in addition to $1.2 million in travel allowance, while leader of the opposition, Portia Simpson Milller will get $6.4 million and the minister of finance $5.9 million.

Other cabinet ministers and the Speaker of the House get $5.5 million per year while junior ministers get $4.8 million. Parliamentary secretaries and the deputy speaker get $4.1 million. All other parliamentarians - those who do not hold executive positions - get just under $3.5 million per year. Senators get $17,000 per sitting or for committee meetings.

But its not just salaries, the Leader of the Opposition gets $276,000 per year as housing allowance while junior ministers and parliamentary secretaries get $207,000.

Housing allowance is not given to backbenchers or the deputy speaker. All mp's except backbenchers get $78,000 as subsistence per year and most get a telephone allowance each year amounting to $30,000.

All mp's are also entitled to a chauffeur and constituency secretary. That constituency secretary gets $956,000 per year and the chauffeurs get between $469,000 and $500,000 basic but that can be supplemented with commuted overtime and subsistence which can run an additional $190,000 to $260,000.

Cabinet members, junior minsters and parliamentary secretaries are also allowed household help with ministers getting 2 and the junior ministers and parliamentary secretaries one each.

The household staff are paid by parliament at a cost of $481,000 each per year.

Pictures of anal sex and oral sex taking place between a well-known lecturer at a prominent university and one of his students have been leaked on social media and the reaction has been wild!

Many persons suspected that the married lecturer and his female student, with whom he was very chummy, were getting their groove on ... and the explicit picture confirmed it. The big question is: Who took the pictures and who leaked them online?

The pictures which were leaked showed the face of the female clearly, but the lecturer's face was not in any of the photographs released.

The official word from the university is that they were ignorat of the pictures and the allegations, but the matter would be investigated.

Officials in Clark County, Nevada, home to Sin City, issued an official warning about a syphilis outbreak after confirming 694 new cases of the sexually transmitted infection, 615 of them in men, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That's a 128% increase over the number of cases confirmed in 2012.

The increase gives Nevada the dubious honor of the state in the western U.S. with the highest rate of syphilis, according to the Associated Press.

"We are considering this an outbreak because disease rates in our community are continuing to climb and we see no plateau at this point," Chief Health Officer Joe Iser said in a statement to the Review-Journal.

In its early stages, the bacterial infection can cause open sores called chancres that are often mistaken for a symptom of some other condition, according to the CDC. In later stages of the condition, it can cause rashes across the body, or invade the ocular or nervous systems, potentially leading to life-threatening complications.

While some of the increase in syphilis rates could be tied to population increases or increased detection rates, the AP reported, health officials say an increase in inconsistent condom use as well as anonymous app-assisted hookups hold some of the blame.

That latter explanation is more complicated than it seems, since meeting people online is just one potential risk factor for contracting a sexually transmitted infection.

"It's never as simple as being 'just' about an app," Debby Herbenick, an Indiana University sexual health expert, told Mic's Nicolas DiDomizio in 2015. "I have had a few students who have met sex partners through Tinder and gotten an STI through such encounters, but I've also had students who have gotten STIs from people they were dating or had sex with at a party, who they had just met."

Las Vegas disease investigator Elizabeth Adelman told the AP that health authorities had "sought permission for a passive presence on platforms such as the gay website Adam4Adam, so users can reach out to them for information. Other popular apps that officials are looking at include Tinder and Grindr."

Jamaica Labour Party activist Rameish Simpson, who was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, is back in police custody for breaching his bail condition.

Simpson, who was out on J$3 million bail, was ordered to be at home during the hours 6.00 p.m to 6.00 a.m daily, but according to reports when the St. Thomas police visited his house about 6.00 p.m on Teusday he was not there.

He reportedly turned up 15 minutes later and was taken into custody. His attorney, Hensley Williams, attended the Yallahs Night Court to argue that the curfew breach was not major.

However, due to the absence of Simpson's file, the judge could not address the matter, as a result of which he is scheduled to return to court on Thursday.

Simpson and his cousin Richard Simpson were charged in December, after a firearm and ammunition were allegedly found in a vehicle in which they were traveling.

The St. Ann traffic division has launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding a fatal collision, which claimed the lives of two men and the injuring of two others Monday, on the Llandovery main road, Runaway Bay, St. Ann.

Dead are 26-year-old Donavan Haye, of Clarks Town, St. Ann and Nicholas Henderson.

Reports are that about 3:00 p.m., the driver of an Isuzu tipper motor truck was travelling along the roadway, when on reaching a section of the roadway, collided with an Isuzu box motor truck, which was travelling in the opposite direction.

Four men received multiple injuries and were taken to hospital where Haye and Henderson died while being treated and the other two admitted.

A Christian student has been ejected from his university course for voicing his opposition to gay marriage on Facebook.

Felix Ngole, 38, was expelled from Sheffield University after faculty staff decided he 'may have caused offence to some individuals'.

The postgraduate father of four, who was studying to become a social worker, has been told his actions affect his fitness to practise and was ordered to hand back his student ID and library card.

Mr Ngole was reported after using his private Facebook account to express support for Kim Davis, a county clerk from Kentucky, who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences after the introduction of same-sex unions there last September.

Mr Ngole argued that homosexual activity is against the teaching of the Bible, quoting a verse from Leviticus describing it as an 'abomination'.

Yesterday, he said he was appealing the university's decision because the case had wider consequences for the 'freedom of religion and freedom of expression'.

Claiming he had been censored, he added: 'The university claims my views are discriminatory, but I am the one being discriminated against because of my expression of Christian beliefs.

'I wonder whether the university would have taken any action if a Muslim student who believes in Sharia law, with its teaching about women and homosexuality, had made moderate comments on his Facebook page. I don't think so.'

Following a disciplinary hearing, the student was told he had brought his profession 'into disrepute' and breached 'personal conduct' guidelines. A separate 'fitness to practise' panel later concluded that he was entitled to his opinion about gay marriage but may have 'caused offence to some individuals'.

They said his comment would affect his ability to operate in the social work profession even though he was not yet qualified.

It was quite a hair-raising scene outside the North Street campus of Kingston College on Monday morning as more than 70 tenneage boys were barred from sitting their mock exams for CSEC and CAPE because their hair was either "too high" or "not on one level".

Students who arived for the 7:45am start of their exams were screened at the internal gate by Mr Walker, the guidance-counsellor-turned- dean-of-discipline whose shiny bald pate glistened in the early morning sun. Stern and expressionless, he held the gate firmly and efectively blocked the entrance of any student who his mind told him was not adhering to the institution's rigid and questionably silly rule on hair. Mr Walker pointed out quite pompously that "many of these boys are repeat offenders". (Repeat offenders!!?? What the hell!! Since when did having a light fade or hair that is higher than two inches constitute a crime? Why is KC labelling these impressionable boys in this derogatory manner. A "repeat offender" conjures up negative images of weed-smoking, knife-brandishing, house-breaking, thieving thugs...none of which could conceivably be applied to 99 per cent of the well-groomed, articulate boys who were cruelly banned from siting their exams.)

Playing the role of a black St Peter holding the gate to heaven, the righteous Mr Walker arrogantly decided who was sinner and who was saint, but it was obvious that many times he erred. (Yes, he screwed up.) There were several instances of boys with identical hair cuts walking up to the gate, but some were ushered through the pearly gates, while others were condemned to purgatory, looking very confused...and scratching their hair

"But my youth, how him just let through (name deleted) and him hair look even higher than yours?"

"Dem man deh pon di tracks team."

"Jah know Star. A same way so it go. Better me go a my yaad. Dawg, mi wi link you pon Whatsapp."

One very vocal mother, who was clearly fed up with the perennial nonsense from the once-prestigious all boys institution which is now living off its impressive legacy, was the voice of the voiceless. It was perhaps she who called the Gleaner company to do a report on the pointless activities, which she branded "cruel and spiteful", mainly because it was carried out on a morning when Grade 11 had Mathematics, an exam which every Grade 11 student must sit.

Naturally, her chiding remarks did not sit well with St Peter, who in turn scathingly told the reporters that "It's parents like these who stir up the boys," even as he tried his best to explain away this senseless act of locking the students out of their important exams, which will directly impact their status for graduation. "We have warned them many times about their hair. It is on the back of their exam timetable. I am here every morning," were his frail, pathetic excuses.

The mother in turn heaped damnation on the cruelty being executed by the oh-so-holy man, and was equally scathing in her retort which reiterated the spitefulness of this entire exercise. "Why did you choose to do something as spiteful as this during mock exams? Does the punishment fit the crime? How can you send out people's children to wander the streets of downtown, especially in a time like this when there is so much tension in the air over the Election results? Kingston College has surely dropped the ball big time on this one," she was overheard saying, as she requested prayers over the phone from Pastor Dionne Bryce-Wells from the Temple of Restoration.

Actually, the full extent of this cruel act was further made obvious when a smirking St Peter later informed the boys and the three parents present that all those who did not sit the exam would be given a big fat zero on their report - NOT ABSENT. Also, this would impact on whether or not these boys would be eligible for graduation.

The People's National Party (PNP) is denying that it is planning to use the courts to prevent the inauguration of Andrew Holness as Prime Minister.

Dr Horace Chang, General Secretary of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), made the claim on Sunday; however, PNP General Secretary Paul Burke, in response, declared that the statement was unsubstantiated.

"There are many bad rumours going around; the PNP has no plans to carry out any court action to stop Mr. Holness from being sworn in. We will accept the democratic results of the 2016 general election," Burke said.

Meanwhile, the Political Ombudsman is urging all Jamaicans to ignore rumours and speculation regarding the final count of ballots.

"I'm urging us to be attentive to what we are hearing in the press, be calm and let us see what the official count will be and when the Director of Elections will advise Jamaica on the final outcome of the elections," she said.

Jamaica's three-man male team made the perfect start at the World Table Tennis Championships in Malaysia as they blanked Morocco 3-0 in Group 4 on Monday.

The team, which comprises Kingston College old boys Kane Watson and Mark Phillips, along with US-based Michael Hyatt, made light work of their opponents to begin life in a higher class, having won group five at the last tournament.

They turned back Morocco 3-0 in their Group P encounter. Hyatt won 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 in the opening game while Watson took his game 13-11, 11-5, 11-7 and Phillips won 11-4, 12-10, 11-3.

Jamaica sits in second spot in the group with two points, one behind Morocco on 3 after they came back to beat Ghana 3-0.

The team now gets a bye in the second round and will next be in action in the third round against Laos on Tuesday. Laos meanwhile opened their campaign with victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In possibly the biggest upset of the opening day, 23rd seeded Democratic Republic of Korea defeated the 10th seeded Chinese Taipei men's team who had won bronze in 2014.

A total of 87 men's and 78 women's teams representing 94 countries are in Kuala Lumpar at the Championships participating in 4 different divisions.

English-based player Christopher Lewis failed acquire his Jamaican passport in time to represent the country.

Menelik, the 19 year-old son of reggae star Luciano, was stabbed and killed in the vicinity of Maths Unlimited in Parkington Plaza on Saturday evening.

"The youth ah go school, and dem lay wait him, him pass some yute, and dem say 'weh yu a look pon mi so?'. Some little unnecessary tings mi see that gwaan wid dem yute ya, dem anxious fi kill, is like dem have bitterness inna dem heart. Him come out and go inna altercation and before yu look. knife pop out and dem stab him up. Last night, mi de a hospital the whole night, dem really try with him," Luciano, whose real name is Jepther McClymont, said in a video posted online.

He made an appeal to the public for any information that can lead to the apprehension of those responsible for his son's death. The stabbing occurred in the .

"Right now, mi need some information. Anyone with information who know these culprits, cause dem drive off inna vehicle. These culprits cannot just get away with taking an innocent life," Luciano pleaded.

The police confirmed that 19 year-old Menelik McClymont, a student of 21 Westminister Crescent, Kingston 10, was killed on February 27th at 2:30 pm. He was stabbed by three men in the vicinity of Maths Unlimited in Parkington Plaza, Kingston 10. He was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where he eventually succumbed to his injuries at about 1:30 am. on Sunday morning, February 28th.

It's all good for media personality Amelia 'Milk' Sewell as she recently signed a six-figure endorsement deal with Strong Back Vitality Drink. Milk's supporters are rejoicing for her and giving her the thumbs up for getting back in the spotlight.

"Only the strong survive you go girl there are those of us out here that's rooting for you; much love and blessings girl," one fan shouted on Facebook.

According to Milk, who was recently hired Fame Fm's newest Entertainment Reporter/producer, "Everything in my life happens full circle, I fall down seven times and get up back eight. I am very grateful for the confidence Mr. Pinnock has showed in me ...Strong Back and Milk make a very potent concoction...we go very well together..."

She added, "The Strong Back vitality drink was launched recently via a very tongue in cheek television ad campaign and I have been getting a lot of strong feedback via social media about my role in the ad."

The manufacturer has revealed that sales have quadrupled since the ad campaign in February.

The vitality drink is also available in The Bahamas. This product is one of many bearing the 'Strong Back' brand - in reference to the strong back root that has become synonymous in Jamaican folklore with improving sexual performance, particularly with men. The root, which features natural aphrodisiac properties, grows naturally throughout the rural areas of the island and can also survive long dry spells.

Rapper Jeezy's teeth allegedly fell out of his mouth during a concert in Jacksonville, Florida, according to many online sources.

A photo of Jeezy reportedly without his teeth has been making the rounds on the Internet. The rapper had in a grill, but it would appear that he also had in dentures, which fell out, if the stories circulating are in fact true.

Earlier this month, Jeezy cursed out a fan who touched him during a concert.

"Don't f#$%ing touch me," Pastor Young said to a male fan at the time.

The Georgia rapper released his Church In These Streets album in November.

A just rumours dem spreading is the response from veteran deejay Ninjaman about claims on social media that his allegedly homosexual son is dead.

Entertainer Ninjaman has denied rumours that emerged on social media that his son had been brutally stabbed to death.

"If that happened, there would be photos of that all over the Internet, remember say he went and made himself famous during the national elections so if that happened, people woulda muss know if is true by now. Ah just rumours some irresponsible people ah spread," Ninjaman said.

A video of Ninjaman's son driving a car in which orange-clad gay men openly declared their homosexuality during a PNP motorcade went viral during the height of the recent General Elections.

A parish manager at the National Works Agency (NWA) was killed by gunmen in Lyssons, St Thomas shortly after midnight this morning.

He has been identified as 30-year-old Theos Blake.

Blake was shot dead as he visited friends on Lyssons Road in Morant Bay.

The police's Corporate Communications Unit says the incident happened about 12:05 a.m. when Blake was attacked by armed men. Explosions were heard and Blake's body was found, face down, by his friends.

So far no motive has been identified for the killing. The police continue to investigate.

The real-life "Jackie Brown" flight attendant who allegedly ditched two suitcases full of cocaine at a Los Angeles airport tearfully defended herself to her broken-up father.

"Somebody gave her the bag," her sullen dad told The Post on Saturday outside the family home in South Jamaica, Queens.

The father, who wouldn't give his name, recalled the emotional encounter with his little girl, 31-year-old Marsha Gay Reynolds, just before she landed behind bars on Wednesday.

"She broke down, of course," he said slowly, in a hushed voice. "She said she didn't know what was in" the luggage. "I'm not in a good place right now," he confessed, looking at the ground.

Prosecutors aren't buying her story and believe Reynolds had carried drugs before and only got cold feet after being randomly stopped at an LAX checkpoint for airline workers.

The JetBlue worker was heading to board a flight to La Guardia Airport on Friday when she kicked off her Gucci heels, dropped her bags stuffed with 60 pounds of drugs - $3 million worth - and bolted, according to police.

"She knew if she dropped both [her bags and heels], she'd be able to run away more quickly," said Marshall McClain of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association. "She was then able to hotfoot it out of the terminal, down an up escalator while barefoot, where we assume she got into a car and took off to parts unknown."

McClain told the Los Angeles Times he doesn't think it was Reynolds' first rodeo.

"I don't believe anybody would trust a mule with that amount of dope the first time out," he said.

Following the drug dump, Reynolds, who is a nursing student at Mercy College, caught a flight to New York and holed up in the Hilton hotel near JFK Airport, sources said. She surrendered to authorities Wednesday and was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Thirty-two-year-old police constable Ewan Duncan has been missing since Friday, February 12.

Duncan, who was attached to the Mobile Reserve lived in Fellowship Hall, Oracabessa, St. Mary

He is of brown complexion, stout build and is about 180 centimetres (5 feet 11 inches) tall.

The Oracabessa Police say about 4:30 a.m., on February 12, Duncan left home to go swimming and has not been seen or heard from since.

At the time he went missing, he was wearing a white turtle-neck shirt, grey jeans pants and grey sneakers.

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Constable Ewan Duncan is being asked to contact the Oracabessa Police at 975-3233, Port Maria Police Station at 994-2223, Police 119 emergency number or the nearest Police Station.

The Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw, says the government will have to find a new source of funds to help finance its planned income tax break for workers earning up to $1.5 million.

According to Shaw, the JLP had assumed that the money collected from the gas tax could be used to partially fund the tax break, but he said those funds had already been used up in the consolidated fund under the previous People's National Party administration.

He made the disclosure at a Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica breakfast on Tuesday.

However, many analysts had taken the JLP's tax break apart in the run up to the February 25 general elections and told them louldly that the plan was simply not feasible.

According to Shaw the government remains committed to implementing the income tax break, which was promised during the recent election campaign. It forms a part of the Jamaica Labour Party's 10-point Plan for Growth and Job Creation.

The JLP had planned to use an estimated $9.5 billion from the gas tax to help fund the measure that is expected to cost the country $12.5 billion.

People, oonu memba Bobo Zarro? The same Rastaman who did deh wid Amber from Irie and who talk up a bag a tingz when Amber get pregnant fi Octane. Poor Bobo Zarro did seh how him did tink seh Octane was him friend and how Octane use to all come a him house when Amber and Bobo Zarro did deh. Anyway, Bbo Zarro did seh him still love Amber and him woulda did look after the baby, even though him wasn't di father.

Well, y'alll gonne look at Zarro wid new respect. Him neva did mek it too big inna di music biz, but the esteemed Bobo Zarro is now the father of a real life queen. According to one sinting wha' we did a read: "Chanel Chin, daughter of Rastafarian reggae artiste Ludlow Chin better known as Bobo Zaro, and Marion Morgan, is now queen of the Iwo Kingdom after her marriage to King Adbul Rasheed Adewale Akanbi earlier this year."

We nuh need fi go no further.

But just one question we a ask. Does that mean that Bobo Zarro is now like a King or something?

Glen Grays, a postal worker in Brooklyn, had his delivery route cut short on St. Patrick's Day when he was handcuffed by four plainclothes police officers and placed in an unmarked car.

Cellphone video filmed by a bystander shows Grays in his postal service uniform, holding a package, when the officers approach him. The video doesn't show what led up to the encounter.

The footage was released this week by Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, who said Grays had been "carrying out his normal duties" as a mail carrier when he got out of his truck and "a vehicle passed by him, almost striking him."

"He made comments to the vehicle, as any New Yorker would," Adams said at a news conference Wednesday. "The occupants of the vehicle stopped, backed up when he was crossing the street delivering the package."

Those occupants were the four plainclothes officers who followed Grays to his delivery stop, according to Adams. The video shows the officers tell Gray to "stop resisting." They then take him away in handcuffs, leaving his mail truck unattended.

Yelling at the unmarked car about driving recklessly "is the only action that Glen did that day that caused those plainclothes officers to stop their vehicle and to show who's the biggest and the baddest, and place handcuffs on an on-duty postal employee who is delivering the U.S. mail," Adams said. "If they would do that to Glen, in his postal uniform, they would do it to any other person of color in this community."

Asked about the incident, the New York Police Department said only that "the matter is under internal review."

Mayor Bill de Blasio "will be in close touch" with New York City Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton "about this incident's investigation and findings," Monica Klein, the mayor's deputy press secretary, said in a statement.

"We expect all members of NYPD to act professionally and respectfully," Klein said.

Grays, who said he was issued a summons for disorderly conduct, is engaged to a New York police officer he met while on his delivery route, the New York Times reported.

Adams said the incident has "traumatized" Grays, who has never been arrested or received a summons from police before.

Adams said that Grays did nothing wrong in the video, adding: "It's hard not the believe that the only reason Glen was handcuffed is because [of] the color of his skin."

Grays is African American.

The police department in New York has come under fire in the past for policies that critics said disproportionately targeted people of color.

Fatal encounters with New York City police have brought additional scrutiny to the department: In 2014, an unarmed black man, Eric Garner, died after he was taken to the ground by officers and put in what appeared to be a chokehold. The incident was caught on tape and ignited protests across the country, with Garner's last words, "I can't breathe," becoming a rallying cry.

That same year, a rookie officer fatally shot Akai Gurley, an unarmed black man, in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project. The officer, Peter Liang, was convicted of manslaughter and fired from the department.

In 1999, an unarmed African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, was gunned down by four New York City police officers in front of his apartment building, killed in a hail of 41 bullets.

Sonya Sapp, the mother of Glen Grays, said this week that she cried when she watched the video of her son's arrest. He is the eldest of her six sons.

"I worry about all my boys, every minute, every second of every day," Sapp said at a news conference Wednesday.

The video begins by showing plainclothes officers approaching Grays, who is holding a package. Not all of the words they exchange are clear.

"You want my ID? My ID is right there inside of the truck," Grays tells the officers, pointing to the vehicle.

The officers tell him to get his ID. Grays is heard telling them he is delivering his postal route. Two officers physically pull him away from the door. The package, having fallen to the ground, is kicked away by an officer.

Four officers surround Grays, who repeats, frustrated: "I'm not resisting."

"Get off of me," he says.

The four plainclothes officers eventually lead Grays, handcuffed, to their unmarked black car.

An officer frisks him and puts him in the car.

Bystanders yell at the officers throughout the encounter. Some recognize Grays and call out to him by name. The video ends there.

Adams, the borough president, said that after the police vehicle drove away, it rear-ended another car and that Grays, who wasn't placed in a seatbelt, was injured in the crash.

"The driver, who had turned around to taunt him, hit the vehicle in front of them, Mr. Grays said, causing him to bang his shoulder against the front seat. Mr. Grays was then taken to the 71st Precinct station, where he was issued a summons for disorderly conduct that will require him to appear in court. He was then released."

Adams denounced the actions of the officers, saying he was deeply troubled by the treatment of a federal employee and that the "major steps" taken by de Blasio and Bratton to reform police practices haven't gotten "down to the street."

"This could have been another Eric Garner situation if Glen had not responded as calmly as he did," Adams said.

Lt. Stitchie is back in Jamaica after completing an approximately six week tour in Europe. He made appearances in several cities, namely: Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Aarhus, Odense, Hamburg, and Frankfurt.

Regretfully, a few shows were cancelled due to breaches made by promoters. None the less, all persons involved in the planning and execution of the tour, believes it was very victorious. The tour was hosted by Jam Link Intl. a cultural association based in Denmark.

Now that he is back on the island, Stitchie is hoping to shoot two music videos, one for "undisputed," a newly released single on the Life 101 Riddim by Blakkwuman22 Music and "nuh tek nuh talk," a track produced by Hit Matic Records.

Following the production of both videos he will head to the United States for several shows with Lady Saw.

Reggae's newest musical sensation Nesbeth has a big date in New York on Memorial Monday, May 30, 2016. Three months after he shared stage with Andrew Holness at the Prime Minster's swearing-in ceremony at Kings House in Jamaica, tri-state area music fans will get the opportunity to see Nesbeth perform live in concert for the first time at the third annual Oracabessa Festival at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, NY.

Nesbeth, born Greg Nesbeth is living his dream with arguably the biggest reggae song globally right now. Released last October, 'My Dream' zoomed to the top of the charts in Jamaica and the Diaspora. It was an anthem during the 2016 political campaign for both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP). The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) in an attempt to drum up support for the upcoming Jamaica vs Costa Rica World Cup qualifier match on March 25, recently selected the revered hit single as the theme song for the event.

"The song speaks to people," Nesbeth was quoted as saying.

On stage, Nesbeth is a crowd favorite. He showed his mettle at this year's Rebel Salute at Plantation Cove in St Ann where he thrilled thousands of music fans who sang his hit song word for word. It was an outstanding performance that also excited Oracabessa Festival executives who booked him for his first outdoor New York gig.

"We are thrilled at Irie Jam radio and so is the entire tri-state area to have this crowd favorite perform live on stage at the Oracabessa Festival. 'My Dream' is a fan favorite here on Irie Jam Radio an we are exited we landed him first" noted event organizer Bobby Clarke.

The Oracabessa Festival in three short years has built a reputation for showcasing the biggest and the best talents out of Jamaica. Two years ago festival organizers signed Tessanne Chin for her very first performance in the tri-state after she won The Voice season five and what a success story that was.

Fraud squad police believe they have cracked a fraud scheme in which a business place was fleeced of over $62 million by one of its managers.

Detectives assigned to the Fraud Squad at the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) reported that, on Monday, they arrested and charged 37-year-old Taneka Stewart-Blake, of a Mahoe Avenue address in Old Harbour, St Catherine.

Reports are that Stewart-Blake was a manager at a prominent business place in Mandeville, Manchester between December 2008 and December 2015.

It is reported that she misrepresented the daily sales at the company and pocketed $62,753,681.

The matter was reported to Fraud Squad and an investigation subsequently launched.

Stewart-Blake was arrested and charged on Monday, March 21 and is to appear before the Corporate Area Criminal Court on Wednesday, March 30. She has not been offered bail.

Health officials in Jamaica are highly concerned about the state in which a Jamaican man working at the United States military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was transferred to Kingston for emergency medical care.

Heightening the concerns of health officials is the non-response by US Embassy officials in Kingston to request for information to guide them on the course of treatment of the injured man who said to be in critical condition at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

Reports are that the man, who was employed to a Jamaican contractor at the US military base, developed a dental abscess and sustained complications after attempts were made to drain it.

Reports are that no medical data on the sick man was supplied at the time of transfer, no were local health officials notified prior to arrival.

According to sources in the public health sector here, attempts to get assistance from the United States Embassy have been unsuccessful.

As a result, one local health official has suggested that the Jamaican government put measures in place to ensure that a similar incident is not repeated.

The JetBlue flight attendant accused of attempting to smuggle nearly 70 pounds of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport will remain in custody in a New York jail.

The judge overseeing the case, Viktor V. Pohorelsky, had originally granted 31-year-old Marsha Reynolds $500,000 bail during a hearing in a Brooklyn court Thursday, a decision he made in large part because she surrendered herself, he said. But a judge in Los Angeles, from where she fled to New York, overturned the decision late Thursday and Reynolds' attorneys failed today in New York federal court to have the L.A. decision overturned. So she will remain in police custody until April 7, when she will appear in front of a California court.

It is unclear when she will be transported to California by U.S. Marshals.Reynolds was charged with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine after she allegedly dropped a suitcase full of the drugs at an airport security checkpoint at LAX airport on March 18, before fleeing. She turned herself into authorities in New York Wednesday.

A family spokesman, Allan Jennings, said after Thursday's bail hearing that Reynolds maintains she did not know what was inside the bag when she was at the airport.

LAX police soon after found 11 packages of cocaine wrapped in green cellophane and labeled, "BIG Ranch" inside one of the bags Reynolds had left behind, the affidavit says.The cocaine weighed just over 68 pounds. Wholesale, the drugs would be worth about $750,000 in Los Angeles, said Special Agent Timothy Massino, a spokesman for the US Drug Enforcement Administration. On the streets of Los Angeles, Massino said the retail value of the cocaine could be as high as $3 million.

Security threats from "insiders," including airline and airport employees and workers hired by contractors, have been a focus of the TSA, particularly after the December 2014 arrest of several Delta Air Lines baggage handlers. Prosecutors allege they smuggled guns, including an AK-47, from Atlanta to New York.

The former Mis Jamaica contestant and JetBlue flight attendant arrested in an LAX cocaine smuggling case is "a very accomplished young lady" and the allegations are "completely out of character," her attorney said.

Dennis J. Ring said it was too early in the case to answer specific allegations against Marsha Gay Reynolds but defended her character. He said she is a U.S. citizen born in Jamaica who had competed in beauty pageants in the past. She was studying to become a nurse while working for JetBlue, he said.

Reynolds is a former beauty pageant contestant and has been a New York-based JetBlue employee for six years. She is also a full-time nursing student.

Her New York lawyer, Brad Mazarin, told ABC News she is in "high spirits," calling her a "very nice young lady." But the case is now out of his hands, he said.Reynolds, who worked for JetBlue Airways, kicked off her heels and fled Terminal 4 around 7 p.m. Friday, just minutes after she was randomly selected for additional screening, according to a criminal complaint filed this week. Barreling the wrong way down an escalator, Reynolds sprinted out of the terminal and disappeared outside.

TSA officials did not pursue her because they were concerned her abandoned luggage might have contained explosives, the complaint said. When they did investigate her luggage, they found it loaded with 70 pounds of cocaine.

Now, questions are being asked about how Reynolds was able to elude authorities. Even though her airline crew member badge had been scanned at a security checkpoint moments before she fled LAX, authorities were unable to identify her until the following day. It took until Saturday for authorities in Washington, D.C., to identify Reynolds from the database, according to a source with knowledge of the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authorization to discuss the case with the media.

An FBI spokeswoman said investigators learned Reynolds' identity hours after the 31-year-old boarded a flight Saturday from Los Angeles International Airport to New York, where she resides.

The TSA officer who had scanned her badge told airport police he remembered her last name, according to the source with knowledge of the case. That information should have been enough to stop Reynolds from boarding a second flight, the source said. The difficulty in identifying Reynolds - and the ease with which she managed to escape the terminal Friday - highlighted serious security flaws at the nation's second-largest airport, said Marshall McClain, president of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Assn.

Jamaican dancer Fire Gyal Flexi has had her moment in the spotlight since a vieo of her dramatically setting her vagina ablze has gone viral, with even TMZ doing a story on her.

According to TMZ: "Fire Gal Flexi -- a competitor in a Dancehall contest -- tells us the incendiary moment was accidental. Her plan was to put rubbing alcohol on her crotch, which she would lite and then immediately smother the flames.

Problem was ... she applied way too much alcohol, and she became a human torch.

Flexi is a little lighter Wednesday -- literally and figuratively -- she suffered 1st degree burns and lost layers of skin, but pressed on and won the dance competition, scoring a trophy and $500 prize.

She'll now go on to the international contest in Jamaica. Hopefully, TSA will confiscate the rubbing alcohol."

Scores of gay squatters who ere eviceted from a house in an affluent neighbourhood in 2013 are right back where they started. The men, who have been accused of being a nuisance since they returned some three months ago, reportedly keep growing in numbers

Estimates are that over 30 cross-dressers and homosexuals are now living at the St Andrew residence much to the disgust of their neighbours.

"Dem need fi go somewhere else. They are a nuisance to us around here," said a female resident, while another added that they often steal water and fruits from trees.

A domestic helper said, "When we a come or leave work, we afraid cause dem will rob we."

However, claims of nuisance, were quickly denied.

"A nuh we a di trouble makers. A di one dem weh go New Kingston rob people and dem ting deh," he said.

The funeral service for Reggae singer Luciano's son Menelik McClymont will take place on Friday, April 3 at Meadowvale Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Red Hills Road.

His stepmother Sonia Sterling who confirmed the arrangements said he will be buried at the Meadowrest Memorial Park in St Catherine. According to a report in the Jamaica Observer the singer is not handling his son's death very well.

His wife told the paper that Luciano has to be cancelling his shows and added to that some promoters are threatening to sue. While promoters are unfeeling towards the grief he has been going through his wife said the entertainment community has been very supportive.

"A couple of artistes pass through and offer dem condolences... Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffiths, Tony Rebel. It really make a difference. And we have been getting text from people far and wide," she was quoted as saying.

Luciano's son was stabbed several times on February 27 at about 2:30 pm. He was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The JetBlue flight attendant who kicked off her Gucci heels and ran leaving 70 pounds of cocaine behind at LAX will have to stay in jail a little while longer.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, 31, appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court on Thursday where a judge granted her a $500,000 bond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Washington asked the judge to delay Reynold's release pending an extradition appeal by a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles.

Wearing grey Converse sneakers and jeans, Reynolds appeared in court with her mother and Allen Jennings, a controversial Pentecostal preacher who was accused of sexual harassment when he was a city councilman.

Jennings and Reynolds' mother put up their homes to secure her 500K bond.

"Miss Reynolds is a very good young woman,," Jennings said in open court. "She may not have been fully aware of what was in the bags."

Jennings added that Reynolds flew back to NY using her JetBlue credentials which were still valid until Thursday when JetBlue suspended her.

Reynolds, who is a former beauty queen in her native Jamaica, is studying to be a nurse at Mercy College. She also ran track at New York University.

NEW YORK (AP) - A JetBlue flight attendant accused of trying to sneak a suitcase full of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport and making a dramatic dash to escape says she might not have been sure what was in her bag, a spokesman for her said Thursday as prosecutors suggested she had smuggled before.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, a former Jamaican beauty queen and college track athlete, turned herself in Wednesday to face a federal drug charge.

Authorities said they found 70 pounds of cocaine in her luggage at LAX on March 18 after she was flagged for a random security screening, flung off her high heels and bolted barefoot down an upward-moving escalator. They said she ran out of the terminal and crossed the country to New York.

Reynolds' spokesman Allan Jennings, representing her family and her defense lawyer, said, "She may not have been fully aware of what was in the bags."

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Washington told a court that last week was "not the only time the defendant has engaged in this conduct." Washington didn't elaborate, and Jennings said he was surprised by the claim.

A U.S. magistrate judge set bail for Reynolds at $500,000 and then warned her parents and two friends from her church they could lose their homes if she flees. He gave prosecutors a day to appeal before Reynolds can be freed.

Reynolds, a 31-year-old Jamaican-born U.S. citizen, graduated from New York University and ran track there. She was a runner-up in the Miss Jamaica World 2008 pageant, which sends the country's representative to Miss World contests.

Leaders of the Jamaica pageant were "shocked and surprised" at news of Reynolds' arrest, said organizer Laura Butler, who doesn't know Reynolds. She said Reynolds apparently had traveled to Jamaica to compete while living in New York, as the contest allows for women of Jamaican heritage living elsewhere.

Reynolds arrived last week at a security checkpoint in LAX's Terminal 4 wearing jeans, heels and a black suit jacket and carrying her known crew member badge, an FBI agent's sworn statement said. She was off duty at the time.

Asked to step aside for a random check, Reynolds nervously looked around and made a cellphone call as she was led to a screening area, the statement said. When a Transportation Security Administration officer asked her for identification, she dropper her bag, ditched her Gucci shoes and took off, an affidavit said. A TSA officer said he didn't pursue her because his primary concern was her abandoned luggage.

In it was just over 68 pounds of cocaine, worth as much as $3 million on the streets of Los Angeles, authorities said.

JetBlue Airways Corp., which suspended Reynolds, said it was cooperating with the investigation.

Prosecutors said Reynolds "took advantage of her position as a crew member" and "abused the trust" she had. If convicted, Reynolds could face at least 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.

The TSA has been concerned about security threats from insiders, including airline and airport employees, particularly after several baggage handlers were arrested in December 2014 on charges of smuggling guns from Atlanta to New York.

Dancehall artiste, Timberlee is over the moon now that her bundle of joy has arrived.

This is what she had to say on Twitter, as she posted a pic of her little man sound asleep..

"Nap time be like...???????????? ??????. I love my baby so much words can't explain. It really is something you have to experience for urself to really know the feeling. But having him and loving him beyond verbal expression makes me wonder about the mothers who mistreat their babies and how insane they must be, and it also makes me aware of how great God is to bring parents through the pain of loosing a child. Anyways, whether you're experiencing the challenges of raising a child or if your child has gone to Heaven, it is only by the grace of God that we are able to make the decisions that are right for ourselves and our loved ones each day. #LifeChanging #SelfLesslyLiving #SuperBabyPowers #AllinAdaysLove."

Grammy-nominated gospel singer James Fortune has begun serving five days in a Texas jail for assaulting his wife during a 2014 argument.sp

Fort Bend County jail records show the 38-year-old Fortune turned himself in Monday night in Richmond, about 20 miles southwest of Houston.

Fortune earlier this year month pleaded guilty to assault on a family member, in a plea deal. Fortune must also serve five years of probation, do community service and not have any contact with his estranged wife.

Fortune's hits include "Hold On" and "I Trust You."

In court, a prosecutor read a victim impact statement from Fortune's wife in which she wrote, "I hope in all of this you get help. Serious help. Although this probation might be like a slap on the wrist, I hope you look at it as a moment to better yourself and change something within you for your future."

This is the second time Fortune has pleaded guilty after hurting a family member.

In 2002 he took a plea deal for six years of probation after burning his four-year-old son in hot water.

There was a massive operation underway in sections of Tivoli Gardens in Kingston.

Police, in a pre dawn raid on Tuesday, swooped down on sections of the West Kingston community, searching for guns and wanted men.

"The clamp down is part of an initiative to bring the recent crime situation under control and to go after some persons we believe are key players in the ongoing gang feud that has once again triggered tension in the area," a senior officer told explained.

The row engulfing this year's staging of the popular Schools' Challenge Quiz competition is escalating with the threat of legal action by Camperdown High and strong discontent being expressed by Kingston College.

Former Jamaican Ambassador to the United States and Professor of International Law at the University of the West Indies, Stephen Vasciannie has sent a letter to Television Jamaica's General Manager, Claire Grant.

Vasciannie told Grant that the recent deduction of four points from Kingston College during their quarter-final match, which resulted in KC being belatedly declared losers to Campion College, is unfair and unjust. He warned the TVJ General Manager that the integrity of the competition, which has a rich history, is at risk.

The Professor said fairness should result in the match being awarded to KC.

Vascaiannie noted that, at the end of the match, it appeared that Kingston College had won by four points. According to Professor Vasciannie, his understanding from persons present at the studio when the match was recorded is that the judges held that Kingston College had mispronounced the name "Absalom".

He said, on examination, it is evident that there was nothing wrong with the pronunciation of "Absalom". Ambassador Vasciannie's letter was copied to the Chairman of the RJR Communications group, Lester Spaulding.

Vascianne is a former President of the Kingston College Old Boys Association.

The SCQ competition was engulfed in controversy earlier this week when an incorrect tally of the scores resulted in a rematch being ordered between Camperdown and Ardenne High, which Ardenne won. Camperdown has threatened legal action in the matter.

Rob Ford, the former Toronto mayor who polarized voters with his brash, uncompromising political style and became an international celebrity for his drug and alcohol use while in office, has died. He was 46.

His family confirmed his death today, saying he had been fighting cancer.

He became known internationally in 2013 after Toronto police said they had obtained a video that appeared to show Ford smoking crack cocaine.

Ford had remained a councillor after withdrawing from the 2014 race to keep his job in Canada's largest city. He withdrew after being hospitalised with an abdominal tumour and endorsed his brother, Doug, who would lose out to John Tory.

A statement from his office announced the death of the "beloved son, brother, husband and father".

"A dedicated man of the people, Councillor Ford spent his life serving the citizens of Toronto.

"The family asks that you respect their privacy and join them in their grieving and their prayers."

Swept to the office in 2010 on a platform pledging to "stop the gravy train", Ford would soon become involved in a number of highly publicised incidents.

After months of denials about the content of the video, Ford admitted to smoking crack, but said he was not an addict. After reports of a second video emerged of him smoking crack, he decided to enter rehab.

It was reported yesterday that he had been in a palliative care facility.

Dis a wha di lawsuit seh: "Sean Kingston went to Haimov Jewelers in Florida and traded in a used Rolex for a new $59,000 model, and the balance owed was $25,000. He also took a diamond bracelet with a price tag of $19,000 to buy or $4,000 to rent. Sean Kingston signed a receipt agreeing to pay for the items the next day."

Di people dem say dat all now Sean Kingston doan pay dem dem money.

Sean Kingston name did a call up inna some next jewellery sinting when people did seh him owe dem $226,000 and one time dem did seh dat Sean Kingston was kidnapped over another jewellery deal gone wrong.

Bwoy, journalism and PR really gone to di dawgs. We couldn't believe when we read this story online pon one site that we did tink have sense.

This is what Tifa publicist send go gi di people dem. (Or whoever write it on behalf of Tifa, cause it obvious that the article is straight PR.) "The diva was recently spotted at a very opulent event canoodling with what is being rumoured to be her new beau. Based on information gathered, the man in question is known as a tycoon in various business circles and is said to be the heir to a multi-million dollar international company based in the US and also an avid fan of Caribbean music.A report further stated that, while at the event, the two were tucked away in a dimly lit private cabana overlooking Kingston as they toasted the night away. However, according to one eyewitness, "despite them trying to be discreet, it was obvious there was a lot more than mere friendship happening between them." When contacted and quizzed, the Big Bumper singer seemingly surprised by the report and neither denied nor confirmed the rumour, but quickly added that what she does in her personal life is exactly that and she would appreciate it remaining that way."

Whoever Tifa publicist is, we haffi big yuh up. Not for writing the bull, but for actually persuading the website to carry it.

As expected, the article ends with information on Tifa's upcoming shows and her latest singles, which, I dare say, was the real intent of the story.

Joseph Jackson has sent a public Thank You note to Michael Jackson's executors. The reason? They sold Michael's part of Sony/ATV Music and the Beatles catalog back to Sony for $750 million. Joe no doubt read that there's a $733 lump sum payout on March 31st. He's probably hoping for a taste. I love how he adds "my wife Katherine and myself"- they haven't lived together for years, he has an illegitimate daughter, she's had divorce papers drawn up several times.

At 87, Joseph Jackson's been recuperating from strokes and a heart attack he had in Brazil on his birthday last year after taking sex drugs in the hopes of getting some action. Am I being too hard on him? Yeah, he beat those kids, particularly Michael. If Michael were alive, the catalog would still not be sold, and Joe wouldn't be getting money from him. Remember, this is the man who brought a Michael Jackson imitator with him to the BET Awards four days after Michael died.

Here's his statement:

On behalf of my wife Katherine and myself, I would like to personally thank the Executors of my Son's Estate for a Job well done. Selling the Music catalog at the high end of today's Market value of over 750 Million US Dollars, has secured many times over the financial future of Michael's children: Prince, Paris and Blanket.

It is every fathers dream to secure the financial well being of his children. That is what drove me to work 2 jobs in my youth while struggling to make it through the Entertainment world.

The former Governor of California walked off-set during an interview on Australia's "Weekend Sunrise" program Saturday morning after being asked to opine on possible Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

"This is an interview that I only do about fitness and health, not about politics or my relationships," Schwarzenegger told host Angela Cox before ending the interview.

Schwarzenegger is currently in Australia to promote a series of fitness events, including the Arnold World Strongman Championships.

It's understandable why a journalist would be interested in Arnold's thoughts on Trump. Like Trump, Schwarzenegger is an entertainment personality-turned-Republican politician, and was also named as Trump's replacement on "The Celebrity Apprentice" in September 2015.

Singer, song-writer and multiple award winner, Empire I, is fully focused on taking control of her musical destiny in 2016; so much so that she has named her latest single, Take Control.

An upbeat, fun song, described as having an "all-reaching, all-pleasing sound", Take Control is an infectious, mixed genre single which seems poised to catapult the artiste's career to yet another level. No stranger to international nominations and awards, Empire I - who released five albums between 2005 and 2012 - was named the Best International Artiste (2008) by the Underground Urban Music Awards; Best World Music Artist of the Year (2008) by the Sounds of Blackness Awards and also picked up awards at the Montreal Hip Hop Awards and the Toronto Exclusive.

Having been recognized by these various music entities, the half British half Moroccan entertainer, who has savoured success with songs including Come With Me, Ignite, Nana Power, Get Up On It, Passion, Bang Bang, and Fi Di Man Dem, is now yearning to make a solid impact on the local music industry. Fascinated by reggae/dancehall music and so captivated by the Jamaican culture that she calls Kingston home, Empire I said it was revealed to her in a dream that her path would lead to Jamaica.

"Kingston is where I fit in, where I feel at home," said the singer who landed a successful placement in HBO's popular comedy series, Girls, with her single, Get Up On It being used in the promotional ads for the upcoming season which kicked off in February.

She continued, "I want Jamaicans to understand how much I love and respect Dancehall and am willing to experiment within a framework of respect. I want to take my place here on the scene."

The artiste and her team are in full promotional mode for Take Control, which has received the nod from critics and love from radio and the dancehall. However, the shrewd entertainer is always engaging other markets and with a manager in New York and another in Sweden, Empire I is fuelling her music through multiple channels and on various platforms. On her concert roster are upcoming performances in Gambia in May; China in June; Jamaica in July and Europe in August.

"But my immediate big performance will be for the Jamaican audience at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre this month-end and I am definitely looking forward to it," says Empire, whose career started in Jamaica while filming a documentary about the Bobo Shantis , who subsequently urged her to put down the camera and take up the mic, after they heard her free-styling.

A team of executives, volunteers and key community supporters from the not for profit organization, Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB) is currently in Jamaica where they supported hundreds of athletes in competition at the annual ISSA/Grace Boys & Girls Championships, which ended Saturday at the National Stadium. T

"Our volunteers and supporters are extraordinary," says Irwine Clare, Snr., CEO and Founder of the organization. "They have taken time from their businesses and work (and at their own expense) to make the trek, not only to show our support but because we are also fans of this fantastic sport. We are thrilled to serve our athletes and it pleases us greatly when they do well", he continued. "We work very hard each year to ensure that they are comfortable when they are at the Penn Relays and will continue to do so. We thank the community for its support in making it all happen."

Now in its 22nd year, TJB has been the mainstay of support for athletes every year at the annual Penn Relays Carnival, held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, providing a plethora of services which include meals, transportation, booking and coordinating hotel accommodation and chiropractic care.

Having had the distinction of being the first Jamaican/Caribbean sponsor at the Penn Relays, TJB opened the doors and consequently the very lucrative Diaspora and mainstream markets to mega brands such as Grace Foods, (now title sponsor), Jamaica Tourist Board, VMBS, LIME, Digicel, Caribbean Food Delights, Golden Krust, Tower Isles and others who now participate or have participated in the three day carnival, gaining exposure to the over 115,000 spectators on hand and millions more through the NBC Saturday national broadcast.

The team will host a reception to kick off its 2016 activities at the Jamaica Pegasus on Monday before returning to New York on Tuesday to continue its preparation for the Penn Relays.

At this year's Granville Carnival, which is endorsed by Montego Bay deputy mayor Michael Troupe, cash prizes are being awarded to the persons with the best carnival costume,and also for women with the best 'assets'.

While there is talk that it sends a wrong message for the mayor to be endorsing an event such as thisTroupe said he has a committee that is responsible for its planning and execution.

"My understanding is that it is a part of the water party celebrations and was planned by the members of the committee. I also understand that the judging will be handled by persons outside of the community," Troupe told The Star.

When quizzed on the appropriateness of him endorsing such competitions given his public office, the deputy mayor said that he supports the event for the positive changes it has made in the community since its inception.

"It gives them a chance to party and have fun together and builds unity among them and I endorse the event for those reasons."

Troupe said that he did not read the poster carefully and thus was not aware of the segments for which prizes were being offered.

"I just got the poster and uploaded it. Honestly, I did not see the fine print. I'm endorsing the event for the positive changes it has brought to the community over the years and nothing else."

The Granville Annual Carnival Mardi Gras event is scheduled to take place at the Granville Post Office. A road march is set to signal the start of the festivities as persons are expected to march from Cars-to-Go in Catherine Hall.

Reggae artist, Eljai, will be releasing the first single "Everything I Do" from his upcoming album, The Other Side Of Eljai on Friday April 1, 2016. The worldwide digital release of this single from this Belizean born singer will be through the Jah Mix Entertainment label and distributed by Tuff Gong International (Reggae legend, Bob Marley's original record company). "I am overjoyed to be releasing this new single and album for my fans and to be working with a company with a historic legacy such as Tuff Gong," says Eljai. Tuff Gong International's executive label manager, Myshjua Allen stated, "Reggae music is loved and respected by fans and artists worldwide. Tuff Gong International's roster of labels and artists reflects the power and popularity of the music and the core messages."

The beautifully shot music video for "Everything I Do" will also premiere globally on release day, April 1st, on Reggaeville.com, one of the world's top Reggae websites.

This single release has been long awaited from this veteran artist as Eljai has been consistently been releasing singles and EPs. This is his first full album since acclaimed I Know release in 2010. Eljai has a number of international shows and media appearances lined up for 2016 in support of the new album. Production assistance on the album track comes from some of Reggae's top musicians including Dean "Cannon" Fraser, Carroll "Bowie" McLaughlin, Stingray Records UK, Carl McGregor and others.

Dr Winston De La Haye, the Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health, was held up and robbed by gunmen in the upscale Acadia area in Constant Spring on Saturday.

Dr De La Haye and his wife reportedly went to pick up their child on Acadia Drive in St Andrew, when they were accosted by two armed men.

Head of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), Assistant Commissioner Elan Powell, said on television on Saturday, that the couple was robbed of cash, cell phones and jewelry, but was not harmed by the attackers.

The robbers were said to have made good their escape on foot in the area.

Dr De La Haye was recently appointed to act in the senior post within the Ministry of Health, following the retirement of the former office holder, Dr Marion Bullock-Ducasse.

Hotelier and chairman of the Jamaica Observer sewspaper, , Gordon 'Butch' Stewart made the headlines last week when he dropped a 17.5 billion dollar lawsuit against his print media rival, the Gleaner company.

According to Stewart's paper, the lawsui stated that the report that "the shares of businessman Gordon 'Butch' Stewart in Gorstew have been frozen due to his failure to pay legal cost to the tune of J$40 million to one Noel Sloley is false and defamatory.

"This publication was and is factually incorrect. The freezing order in question is in respect of costs claimed by Jamaica Tours Limited, which is the subject of ongoing litigation in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal."

There has so far been no response from the Gleaner, but online has been buzzing. Most of the comments have been supportive of the intended action, but a few have been critical.

Brlow are a some of the comments:

"I am no lawyer here...but let me see if I can reason this out.

Some time in March 2009 (Observer Article dated March 15, 2009) United States and local agents, in a ground-breaking development, swooped down on the offices of Jamaica Tours Limited, owned by the family of Opposition Senator Noel Sloley, to trace the origin of a vexatious e-mail that allegedly libeled Gordon 'Butch' Stewart...Fast forward to 2016...Jamaica Tours Limited is claiming Legal Costs. You can only claim legal costs when you triumph in the Courts. So, I guess its safe to say JTL/Noel Sloley did. That now leads us to the issue of the frozen shares. So the shares were frozen not because of "failure to pay legal cost" but the freezing order in question is in respect of costs claimed by Jamaica Tours Limited, which is the subject of ongoing litigation in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Hhhmmm, sounds like someone is splitting hairs."

"Mr Stewart you want tell us that the Gleaner print a misleading story on there web site Friday and now today Monday it cause you significant damage and also resulted in significant losses, you know that what you mention you got to prove the " significant damage" and "significant losses" to the courts to be compensated, now I can understan the false and defamation lawsuit.

"But you also admitted that the freezing of assets is true but it pertain to the Jamaica Tours Limited and not one Mr Noel Sloley. Now you know that if Mr Noel Sloley is Jamaica Tours Limited or a part of then the story only is deceptive and not entirely false, I wish you we'll, knowing fullwell this going to take years to litigate if you really got a case."

The Marley family chalked up another victory when a United States court sided with them in a lawsuit filed against a company that sold shirts with the late Bob Marley's image.

The estate of the Jamaican icon had filed a suit after low-cost T-shirts - featuring a photo of a speaking Marley next to the yellow, green and red colors associated with his Rastafarian faith - went on sale at Walmart, Target and other major US retailers.

In 2011 a Nevada jury awarded over $2 million in damages and legal fees to firms owned by Marley's children that said they had lost an order to sell T-shirts at Walmart as the unauthorized rival was distributing a similar product.

The defendants lodge an appeal but that was rejected on Friday by a federal court which agreed that the non-family companies violated the 1946 Lanham Act, a key US law on copyright infringement.

Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the unsolved 2005 Aruba disappearance of Alabama teen, Natalee Holloway, appears to have made a shocking confession to an undercover reporter about having murdered her.

Dutch convicted killer van der Sloot, who is in a Peru jail for the 2010 murder of a 22-year-old woman there, was captured on an undercover video admitting that he lied to the police about Holloway's death, Radar¬Online.com reported Wednesday.

"I always lied to the police. I never told the truth," said a grinning van der Sloot in the video. He was speaking in Dutch about the Holloway case to his wife and an undercover reporter working for Radar¬Online and the National Enquirer.

"Also, when I was young¬er, I never told everything. The police just never knew what they had to ask me," van der Sloot said.

When asked if he's talking about the Holloway case, van der Sloot replied, "Yes, this is also where I am guilty and I accept everything that I have done."

He added, "I think that was one of the worst police investigations that ever took place."

Van der Sloot was the last person to be seen with 18-year-old Holloway, who vanished on a high school trip to the Caribbean island.

Reggae band leader Frederick "Toots" Hibbert has settled a lawsuit he filed against the organisers of an outdoor festival in Richmond, Virginia, after he was struck in the head with a vodka bottle in 2013.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that news of the settlement comes after attorneys for Hibbert and Venture Richmond, the organizer of the Dominion Riverrock festival, both asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit last month.

None of the parties involved would disclose details of the settlement.

The 73-year-old leader of Toots and the Maytals had filed a $20 million lawsuit in 2014, accusing Venture Richmond of negligence in planning security and alcoholic beverage sales.

Wanted men - most of whom were wanted on charges ranging from rape to murder - have been apprehended by the Westmoreland police.

The 10 were picked up as the police executed 300 warrants since the start of January, David White, the superintendent in charge of the Westmoreland division, told Loop News.

Among the offenders were motorists wanted on road traffic violations.

"We are stepping up our drive," said White, who is well-regarded within the police force.

At the same time, the senior cop said that 'Jawbone', one of the most wanted men in the western end of Jamaica is now on his radar. He's wanted for a number of murders and is known to frequent the areas of Waterworks, Savanna-la-Mar and Whithorn in the parish.

"We won't stop until we get this man. He's our number one priority, I can emphasize, until we get him off the street," said the superintendent, who took over the Westmoreland division last year.

Meanwhile, White said that his men have recovered nine or 10 firearms since January. The figure, he said, is more than the total number of firearms recovered in 2015.

Playwright, artistic director, actress, broadcaster, communications practitioner and marketing specialist, Dahlia Harris has been appointed as Director of Culture in Education at the Ministry of Education, Information and Youth.

Harris, who was Principal Director of Culture under the previous PNP administration, was dismissed following a dispute with senior members of the then Lisa Hanna-led Youth and Culture Ministry.

Her appointment comes as the Andrew Holness administration begins to ring the changes in its first few weeks in office.

She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, where she pursued a double major in mass communications and literature.She has served as a member of the Board of the Creative Production and Training Centre, and the Entertainment Advisory Board of the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has confirmed plans to discontinue the practice of giving extra answer sheets to students sitting two of its exams, but says that this will not place candidates at a disadvantage.

The council says it is aware that some people are concerned about the new policy. However, it has sought to assure the public that it has a new booklet which has adequate space for students to write answers.

The council says the new booklets were used on five previous occasions and it did not receive any complaints that CSEC or CAPE candidates needed additional answer sheets.

According to CXC, it has done adequate research and is confident that the space provided in the new booklet is more than adequate for the expected responses.

The CXC says in an effort to ensure that no candidate is disadvantaged, the new answer booklets, also provide a general area, at the back of the booklet to facilitate candidates who write significantly more than is typical.

Upcoming artiste, Ikon, who is promoting his latest single, Make A Wish, strikes again! This time around, the man who climbed ZIP FM tower and threatened to commit suicide if his music was not played, has set up a campsite outside the Irie FM headquarters in St Ann.

"Me waan know every disc jock a Irie FM and give dem a CD. Every DJ no work one day and a Portmore me live. Me cyaan afford dem expensive hotel yah a Ochi so me jus camp out," the artiste told a local newspaper.

"I'm at the gate. If you a go in, you haffi see me, if you come out yuh haffi see me. Me have me camping tent, me have radio, food, CD. Anything you bring go pon camping a it me have out yah."

Me no business wah people waan say bout me. Me jus determine say me haffi get my goal. This time me nah go bout it so extreme. Rotation a me goal. The first time dem say the quality a me music neva match dem standard but right now, me quality way up," he explained.

Following the killing of Nicholas Beadle at the hands of alleged homosexuals last month, police say they have yet to make any breakthroughs in bringing the still-at-large perpetrator to justice.

Beadle, 27, was stabbed to death while on his way home from work on February 25 as he navigated through a path in the vicinity of West King's House road. He died while receiving treatment in the hospital.

The deceased man's family is now waiting for an arrest with a heavy heart, and hoping police find his assailants.

"My son died, and now you hear them saying they are stepping up security," said the victim's father. "That not helping me again! I already have my loss. This is one of our biggest losses."

A source told the website that the situation has become a "public relations headache" for the company.

Many entertainers have publicly voiced their support for Keisha, with Adele, who is a Sony artiste, dedicating her recent awards to the singer. Sony subsequently stated that although Dr Luke was affiliated with the organisation, he was not directly employed by Sony.

Elsewhere, sportscaster Erin Andrews was recently awarded $55 million in the wake of a suit against a man who took invasive videos of her and the hotel that apparently allowed it to happen.

Bank card fraudsters reportedly went on a shopping spree to the value of US$32,000 (J$3.8 million) with dancehall artiste QQ Bank of America card last week.

Online reports are that the entertainer tried to use his Bank of America card at an ATM machine in New York last Wednesday, only for it to be declined owing to lack of funds.

QQ's father is quoted as saying, "When he got in touch with the bank they told him he had no funds in the account and he asked them how that was possible. They explained that he had been spending huge funds over the past few days doing online shopping, but QQ was not the one making the purchases."

As reports of surgery to put in breast implants swirl around her, radio personality and Magnum host Yanique 'Curvy Diva' Barrett has put out a press release which neither denies nor confirms whether or not her breasts are new.

"When someone is considered a sex symbol there is always going to be rumors and questions about what is real or fake. People should refrain from making snap judgments though when they aren't aware of the facts. Not everyone with a nice body has done surgery, so that should never be the assumption. I've always projected a positive self image and will continue to inspire young girls to love themselves and always be confident regardless of their body type." Yanique stated via a press release.

Yanique was seen on Sunday at the BritJam event which she co-hosted with the internationally renowned china doll, Blac Chyna, and according to some Internet trolls, Yanique with her "fake breasts' looked more plastic that china doll.

There have been a slew of negative (and some positive) comments in ragards to Yanique's new-look breasts, but the diva is clearly not fazed.

"I don't mind being the centre of attention though so keep the positive and negative comments coming," the graduate of Seventh-day Adventist institution, NCU, stated.

Well, we are pretty sure the comments willl keep coming, as the release, along with pictures will only add fuel to the fire. A scroll through her Facebook page shows a July 12, 2014 with the caption: "The black is when I was 19 I think and the other is now in my 20's #boobylicious."

Steven 'Stevie' Chang, the sound system selector who was shot during a robbery attempt at a bar in Manchester in January, succumbed to gunshot wounds injuries lastThursday.

His passing was announced via a post on the sound system Facebook page.

"It is with deepest regret that we inform you all of the passing of Steven Chang. We, the Black Kat family, wish to express condolences to his family at this time. He is surely missed by fans and friends across the world. He was one of the greatest disc jockeys. His work and memories live on," the post read.

Atlanta radio personality Mikey Sparkle, has started the wheels turning for a tribute event - Tribute to the Iconic Winston 'Merritone' Blake - scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 26 at C&J Hideaway, in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Winston Blake was a tremendous influence on me; I had the pleasure of working with him on numerous occasions. I really admired his passion for music, his knowledge of music was excellent. He was a great mentor and friend," said Mikey Sparkle.

A number of popular DJs are booked for the event, including Winston Blake's brother Monty 'Merritone' Blake, DJ Migrane, DJ Cold Rice and Paul Abrahams. All proceeds from the event will go to Winston Blake's family.

"This party is going to be a blast. I want a lot of people to come out on the 26th and have a great time as we salute this great man. There's no set admission for the event, we are asking patrons to kindly make a donation. All the money raised from the event will go to Mr Blake's family," said Sparkle.

Winston Merritone Blake died at the University Hospital of the West Indies, St Andrew on February 27.

Effective Monday, the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) will begin charging General Consumption Tax (GCT) on all services it provides as part of instructions issued from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to the Government of Jamaica.

A newspaper advertisement said the BSJ is now a registered taxpayer.

Among the services offered by the BSJ are laboratory testing and product certification.

Dr. Winston Davidson, BSJ Chairman, said the multi-laterals raised concern about what they considered an anomaly in the operations of the BSJ.

"The Ministry of Finance, through the World Bank project, has decided to charge the Bureau of Standards GCT on all transactions. That has caused an increase in the budget by millions of dollars. There is no increase in the profit margin to the Bureau, just that it has dug into our budget by nearly over $20 million, this never happened before but since the iMF conditions require that, we just have to comply with that," he said.

A major crisis is looming on the already sick public healthcare sector amid reports that more nurses are being recruited for overseas jobs.

According to the president of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) Janet Coore Farris, more nurses likely to leave the island next month, when British recruiters arrive.

The current atio of one nurse to 40 patients in some health facilities in Jamaica is in stark contrast to the international standard of one nurse to five patients, she explained, adding that the situation will worsen. These registered nurses "don't even have to have their degree in nursing; they will just have to have a certificate," she said.

Such is the extent of the demand for these nurses, she elaborated, that they will not need to have specialist training, just experience working in the particular area.

Mrs Coore Farr said the United States, Canada and England are interested in Jamaican nurses because they are well trained.

Furthermore, she said, Jamaican nurses are eager to take up jobs overseas because of the improved salaries.

"They are going to be paying them anywhere between L36,000 to L40,000... and that... works out to be anywhere between six-point-something (Jamaican) dollars to seven-point-two million dollars a year. So, we really do have a crisis on our hands," she declared.

Billboard recording artist Sean Paul has collaborated with Canadian chanteuse Sielle to make an "Easy Mistake" which is impacting radio and causing a stir in parties!

The duo teamed in the studio in Jamaica with the goal of giving fans an infectious song that they will sing along to, while introducing the young starlet, Sielle, to an international audience. The collaboration resulted in a certified banger which is being loved by all who hear it.

With ingredients that include a crossover Dancehall rhythm, Sielle's silky smooth voice and sweet lyrics to compliment perfect melodies and harmonies, both Sean Paul and Sielle are winning fans who not only appreciate the two working together, they also appreciate the concept of the song! "We've all done it at some point in time" says Sielle, "we've all fallen in love with a person which turned out to be a mistake, so this song is about moving on from this mistake!"

Produced by the hit-makers Matthew 'Esco' Thompson; 957 Muzik and Smokin Acez Media, "Easy Mistake" is on track to be the summer anthem and have the season buzzing. The song, written by Sielle, was welcomed by Sean Paul as a project to work on. Impressed with the young vocalist, Sean has high hopes for the song as it is one that most people can relate to.

Although Sielle's sound is characterized as alternative soul; the collaboration with Sean Paul has allowed her a chance to tap into her Jamaican roots to deliver a masterpiece. "I want to touch people with my music, my music is a dairy, what I feel, what I have been feeling throughout my life," explains Sielle with hopes of changing lives through her music.

However, working with Sean Paul on Easy Mistake, has had a major impact on Sielle. This collaboration has allowed her to go into her Jamaican roots with all of her life's experience as an artist to deliver a masterpiece.

He was sentenced by Fort Bend District Judge Maggie Jaramillo to five years of probation plus five days in jail, according to ABC 13. Aside from his time in jail, Fortune would also have to do 175 hours of community service and undergo a "batterer's intervention" programme. He is also prohibited from going anywhere near his wife.

His wife wishes Fortune would learn something valuable out of his time in prison. "I hope in all of this you get help. Serious help. Although this probation might be like a slap on the wrist, I hope you look at it as a moment to better yourself and change something within you for your future," Cheryl wrote in a note that was read in court.

She reportedly agreed to the plea deal this time around because she did not want to let her three kids go through the stressful journey of the trial, nor did she want any of them to testify against their own father.

When sought for comment, Fortune declined to give any as he walked out of court. His mother, on the other hand, insisted that he was not guilty but would not elaborate on her statement.

Investigators said Fortune, who sang "We Give You Glory" and "I Believe," hit his wife using a wooden vanity stool, kicked her, then threw her against a wall inside their Stafford home one night back in October 2014.

This was not the first time that Fortune accepted a plea deal. Back in 2002, he took six years of probation after scalding his four-year-old son in hot water. Even though Fortune claimed it was a form of discipline, investigators argued that it wasn't since 40 percent of his son's body was scalded. Yet, this is not Fortune's first brush with the law.

Lawsuit documents stated that in 2001 James Fortune burned his 4-year-old step son, leaving the boy with scarring of 2nd and 3rd degree burns on nearly half of his body. His wife Cheryl was also named in the lawsuit. After picking up his stepson from pre-school and hearing from the teacher that he was acting up in class, Fortune verbally scolded the boy, the suit said. He then prepared a [scalding] hot bath for the boy. The lawsuit also says Fortune told the boy to take off his clothes and [proceeded] to whip the boy before pushing the toddler into the bath and holding him underwater.

In 2003, James Fortune plead guilty to felony injury to a child and received 6 years deferred adjudication.

The biological father [sued] for $5 million in order to take care of the boy's continued plastic surgery.

AlwaysAList.com reports that Fortune attributed the allegations by his wife's ex as "an attack on his 'increased profile and financial viability' and contested the matter in civil court."

Foundation deejay Screwdriver was arrested following his attack on a woman with a cane.

According to police reports Dalton Lindo aka Screwdriver known for his most popular song 'Sharon A pregnant yuh pregnant (No Mama) is in jail after attacking the woman and several police officers with a ski pole while shouting 'Shoot me!"

The Margate, Florida police informed that the woman in question reported being hit in the neck with a cane by a man who had been following her about 10:45 am Sunday in the 6400 block of Winfield Boulevard.

Screwdriver was spotted by police officers and his reaction was to threaten them even as he dared them to shoot him. He rode away but was eventually caught on Kimberly Boulevard in North Lauderdale.

He reportedly struck and attempted to stab several officers with the ski pole as he was being taken into custody, according to police. Some of them suffered minor injuries and were treated and released from Northwest Medical Center, detectives said.

He has been charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding a police officer, resisting an officer with violence, and possession of marijuana, records showed. He remained in jail Monday.

The Court of Justice in Curacao has sentenced former prime minister Gerrit Schotte to three years imprisonment after he was found guilty of bribery, forgery and money laundering charges.

The court also ruled that his long-time partner, Cicely van der Dijs, be sentenced to 18 months in prison.

In addition, the court Friday said that the former Curacao prime minister cannot participate as a candidate in any elections for the period of five years.

Schotte, the leader of the MFK party, was appointed the country's first prime minister in October 2010, He served for two years before members of his own administration quit and formed a new government. Schotte labelled the move as coup sponsored by The Hague.

Ben Carson, the former pediatric neurosurgeon who dropped out of the Republican presidential race last week, endorsed Donald Trump on Friday, praising his "guts" and "energy."

"There are two different Donald Trumps," Carson said at the billionaire's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. "There's the one you see on the stage and there's the one who is very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully. You can have a very good conversation with him. That's the Donald Trump that you're going to start seeing more and more of."

Trump agreed with that assessment.

"I probably do agree. There's the public version ... it seems to have worked over my lifetime," he said. "I think it's different than the personal one."

Moments later, though, Trump seemed to reject that idea.

"I don't think there are two Donald Trumps. I think there's one Donald Trump," he said.

When asked about Trump's past criticisms of his candidacy, Carson said, "We buried the hatchet. That was political stuff."

"We move on," he added.

Trump gave a rambling speech in Iowa in November in which he called Carson a "pathological" liar and compared it to child molestation.

"If you're a child molester, there's no cure, they can't stop you. Pathological, there's no cure." Trump said at the time.

Carson said on Friday that he opposed to efforts within the Republican Party to derail Trump's candidacy.

"What I have seen recently is political operatives ... trying to thwart the will of the people," Carson said. "I want the political process to play out."

The Medical Officer of Health for Clarendon, Dr Kimberly Scarlett Campbell, has reported that the parish has recorded three suspected cases of the Influenza A or H1N1 Virus.

The cases which were recorded in February are yet to be confirmed as lab results are still outstanding.

However, Dr Scarlett Campbell reported to the Clarendon Parish Council at its monthly sitting yesterday that there has been an increase in the number of undifferentiated cases of flu in the parish and she believes this is due to the H1N1 virus.

She noted that the Clarendon health department is aware of the threat of the H1N1 and is reporting that there is sufficient medication available to treat suspected high risk cases.

Additionally she said the parish will be hiring a public health inspector who will be responsible for inspecting institutions such as schools, police stations and lock-ups to ensure adherence to prevention and control standards.

As a preventative measure, the Medical officer said the health department has embarked on a massive immunisation programme for its frontline healthcare workers at hospitals and health centers as they are seen as a high risk group.

Tennis' now-disgraced golden girl, Maria Sharapova has been branded "reckless beyond description" by Dick Pound, the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

According to Pound, Maria Sharapova wasamid revelations the Russian was warned five times in December to stop using Meldonium.

Sharapova was contacted on three occasions by the International Tennis Federation and twice by the Women's Tennis Association with warnings Meldonium would be outlawed from January 1.The alerts were sent to all players.

The former world champion continued to use the drug, apparently unaware it had been placed on the banned list after failing to properly open email links.Her ignorance drew sharp condemnation from Pound who says she has no excuses for the failed test.

"Running a $30 million business depends on you staying eligible to play tennis," Pound said.

"You are taking something on a (banned) list. I am sorry, that is a big mistake - of course she should have known.

"She is taking something that is not generally permitted in her country of residence (US) for medical purposes, so she says, so there must be a doctor following this.

"Anytime there is a change to the list, notice is given on 30 September prior to the change. You have October, November, December to get off what you are doing.

"All the tennis players were given notification of it and she has a medical team somewhere. That is reckless beyond description."

Several of Sharapova's former sponsors including Nike and Porsche have distanced themselves from the Russian who retains the support of many of her rivals, including world no.1 Serena Williams.

Pound meanwhile laid into the 28 year old amid uncertainty over whether she had registered use of Meldonium on paperwork accompanying drug testing.

According to Pound "A drug like this over a long period of time is contraindicated. It means you would not take it over a long period of time.

"That is why there was an urge to put the drug on the list. A lot of people were taking it for performance enhancing.

"Most of the drugs of choice for dopers were built for therapeutic reasons - like EPO and others.

"That was supposed to regenerate blood if you had cancer treatment or surgical intervention if you needed to increase blood supply.

"Someone has said: 'Hmm, more oxygen in the blood? Hmm, very interesting. Let's see if we can use it for that purpose.'

"There is a side effect to every drug, somebody must be monitoring this."

Sharapova faces a ban of up to four years, however several tennis identities believe, with a successful defence, the suspension could be as brief as four to six months.

The LASCO/ Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Police Officer of the Year 2016-2017 will be selected from a crop of fine gentlemen officers.

The final 12 are: Sgt. Gladstsone Sealy from Area 1; Cons. Chadwin Headlam from Area 2; Cons. Shevaughn Andre Gossett Reid from Area 3; Sgt. Kidan McKoy from Area 4; Det/Cons. Dameian Haye from Area 5; Cpl. Selvin Joseph Smith from the National Police College of Jamaica; Sgt. Nickoyn Brown from Personnel; Cpl. Denton Daniel Gordon from Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime; Cons. Dameian Johnson from Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency; Sgt. Lloyd Washington Jones from the Inspectorate of Constabulary; Cons. Odaine Williams from Company 3; and Cpl. Kimaryo Pinnock from Motorized Patrol.

This year's LASCO Top Cop entrants have all complied with the new standards of filing statutory declaration and other obligations, as well as being compliant with the JCF. In addition, nominees were required to have served the JCF for at least five years and have a strong work ethic and communication skills. The participants were also considered based on professionalism, knowledge of, not only the policies and procedures governing the JCF, but local and international affairs.

The evaluation continues with a Week of Activities scheduled from March 6-10. These five days will truly serve as a small taste of the work and role of a LASCO Top Cop. This Year's Finalists will participate in a Youth Project Day on Monday, March 7 with a Peace March and Football Competition. The march will start at the Kingston YMCA and end at the JCF Community Safety and Security Branch on Ruthven Road.

The 2016-17 LASCO/JCF Police Officer of the Year will receive the coveted LASCO/JCF Champion Trophy along with a $250,000 cash prize; the first and second runner-ups will also receive a trophy and a $200,000 and $100,000 cash prize respectively.

Detective Sergeant Lindo will pass on the duties as LASCO/JCF Police Officer of the Year at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, March 30 at the Jamaica Pegasus.

US-based artiste A'Mari is hailing the lip-locking and wukka man skills of the new man in her life, Gully Bop.

A'Mari said that people who focus on Gully Bop's appearance, including his lack of teeth, have no idea on how genuine and caring a person he is.

"There's more to him than his appearance. He has a soft touch, and while other men would take long for me to climax, when Gully touches me, I instantly reach a climax. It's like fire when he touches my body," she told a newspaper in Jamaica.

"People don't know that he cries a lot, he breaks down a lot because he is a sensitive person. He cries for the homeless and the poor. He's a good man," she said.

"A lot of people didn't even know that he was sleeping on the floor and I got him an apartment. I couldn't be using him because I have been helping him in the few weeks that we've been together. In fact, we're gonna be moving in together when I get back to Jamaica.We are the Jay-Z and BeyoncE of Jamaica right now."

Though her family has not yet been made aware of the relationship, A'mari does not foresee them having a problem with the union. In fact, she believes that Gully Bop is an even better fit than her previous boyfriend, who she says was mistreating her.

"Gully Bop is like a precious gem. At first, I really didn't see him as my type, but now, I feel like our love can last forever. It's unconditional. Gully Bop is my man," she said.

Ironically, A'Mari stated that she has never dated someone from the industry, as they are too scandalous.

"I hate them. I can't take the drama. But, Gully is a sweetheart. I don't know if he has two sides. Maybe I haven't seen the other side yet. He is special. I definitely see us lasting a long time," she told.

Jamaican model, Alexia Palmer, has brought a lawsuit against Donald Trump's modelling agency, in which she has claimed US$225,000 (approximately J$27.3 million) back pay.A United States judge will this month determine whether or not to proceed with the case.

According to a report by Reuters, Palmer, in a suit filed in October 2014, is accusing Trump Model Management LLC, which is owned by the US Republican presidential candidate, of lying to the federal government in its work-visa application that said she would be paid a US$75,000-a-year salary while living in the United States.

Reuters reports that based on court documents, Palmer only received a total of US$3,880.75 during the three years she was under contract with the agency. Palmer alleges "fraudulent misrepresentation" and violations of U.S. immigration and labour laws.

Lawyers representing Trump have called the case "frivolous" and "without merit." They claim the Jamaican was not an employee and was more than adequately compensated for a "very brief stint as a fashion model," which they claim amounted to less than 10 days of work over three years.

Blac Chyna, who turned heads yet again as she modeled a skimpy red bikini that showed off her tattoos.The curvy 27-year-old also announced she was jetting off to Jamaica. No word on whether or not her boyfriend Rob Kardashian will be joining her.

It will be another business trip for Blac, who has been busy making appearances at clubs all around the world as of late. Blac will be appearing on Sunday at the music festival Brit Jam 2016, dubbed on its Facebook page as 'the largest Spring Break Festival in the Caribbean.'

Chyna has been dating Rob for the past two months, and things quickly became serious between the pair. The pair went public with their romance at the beginning of the year and after being a recluse since quitting his famous family's TV series in 2013, Rob has returned to the spotlight.

However, on Sunday, the sock entrepreneur was forced to deny that they had ended things after he deleted all pictures of them together from his Instagram account.

Rob shared a picture which showed him kissing Chyna's cheek as he explained that they wanted more privacy.

The star wrote: 'Chy and I are not broken up we just feel like it would be a lot healthier for our relationship if we kept a lot more to ourselves.

'It's impossible to have a positive relationship with so much negativity from the media and outsiders and we would appreciate it if everyone respects that.'

Over the last few weeks, a number of carjacking incidents have plagued the capital city, Kingston. Late Tuesday night, a young couple was carjacked on Beechwood Avenue causing them to flee for their safety.

Only last week, a member of the diplomatic corp was confronted by a man in the middle of the street forcing him to stop the car while two other men jumped into the back seat and tried to overpower him.

A struggle ensued as the assailants attempted to make off with the vehicle.

In February a prominent architect was also carjacked with young men also jumping into the back seat demanding money and taking away his firearm. In this instant, the carjackers acquired his details and demanded he meet with them with a sum of money to recover said firearm.

The architect died subsequently from unrelated circumstances.

More recently, an elderly member of a prominent business family was carjacked in Jacks Hill where demands were made for money.

Again last month, three young women making their way home from a soca party stopped at a traffic light in the Holborn Road vicinity only for three men to jump into the back of the car and demand that the keys to the vehicle and money be given to them. The incident was reported to the police.

Back in January, a head of a prominent security company was carjacked on Old Hope Road. The trap set, saw him being distracted by a man stepping in front of the vehicle while two others jumping into the back seat demanding money and the keys to the car.

Superintendent Jacqueline Green of Constant Spring Police Station, responsible for St Andrew North Division said: "We regard carjacking as a form of robbery and in most cases the criminals see something in the car that they want such as the driver's fancy jewellery, a computer bag or high-end smartphone.

They tend to employ a technique whereby they bump into the victim's vehicle and as the driver goes to investigate, he/she gets robbed."

"If a driver should suspect a carjacking will take place, he or she should drive into a well-lit area or pull into the nearest police station. Always ensure that your car doors are locked and the windows are up; particularly the rear windows. Don't display or leave valuables in your car. Look alert and be extra careful when pulling up or stopping at intersections and stoplights," she said.

Cuba's state newspaper said Wednesday US President Barack Obama will be warmly welcomed when he makes a historic visit later this month, but warned him not to expect political concessions.

"The US leader will be welcomed by the government of Cuba and its people with the hospitality that distinguishes them and will be treated with all consideration and respect," official daily Granma said in an editorial.

But it hastened to add: "No one can harbor the slightest doubt about Cuba's unconditional adherence to its revolutionary and anti-imperialist ideals."

Obama will visit the island March 21 and 22 -- the first visit by a US president since Calvin Coolidge in 1928, and a symbolically charged capstone to the rapprochement that he and Cuban leader Raul Castro announced in December 2014.

Before announcing the visit, Obama had insisted he would only travel to Cuba if the communist government made progress on reforms in areas such as human rights.

But Granma warned him not to be a pushy guest, quoting Castro himself as saying: "We will not allow ourselves to be pressured on our internal affairs. We have won this sovereign right with great sacrifices."

The editorial reiterated the Castro government's demands for the United States to return the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, end its more than 50-year-old embargo on Cuba, and fully normalize ties in areas such as immigration.

Obama's Republican opponents accuse him of betraying the cause of human rights in Cuba by engaging with the Castro regime.

Cuesta said a softer touch would ease doubts and encourage those who believe the country should move in the direction of greater rights but are wary of Washington's intentions.

Since taking over nearly a decade ago from his older brother Fidel, the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution, Raul Castro has slowly opened up the Cuban economy. But the political system is still completely dominated by the regime, and dissidents regularly face crack-downs and arrest.

World 100m and 200m record holder Usain Bolt is expected to hit the track sometime in May according to his coach Glen Mills

Speaking after the launch of the Racers Grand Prix a short while ago at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Mills confirmed that Bolt will have several races before he participates in his club's Grand Prix.

"Usain will definitely compete in May but as to the actual date and time I am not able to say at this time" he said.

As to Bolt's preparation, Mills said: "I am happy with how he is progressing at this time."

'I killed him because he tried to rape me'; note found at slain teacher's house

"I killed him because he tried to rape me" is the note allegedly found at the house of slain St James High English Language teacher Dexter Dacres. Condoms and lubricants were also said to be found in the English language teacher's bedroom.

Reports are that Dacres, 53, who lived alone was last seen on Saturday in the company of a boy who he said was a relative of his, residents report.

Dacres' decomposing body was discovered at his home in New Haven Heights, Granville, Trelawny Tuesday morning.

Miles Brown is 11 years old, a young actor who landed his first big break on the ABC sitcom Black-ish as the character of Jack Johnson. He is also a hip-hop dancer, having been a semi-finalist on America's Got Talent.

Q: How did you get started in entertainment?A: Well I was dancing before I was acting. Then a friend asked if I wanted to do an episode of this TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba!. So I did the show. I was on there dancing, and I technically didn't realize it but I was also acting on there as well. After that, slowly but surely over time it just converted to acting from dance and I love it. I do still love to dance, but I really love acting.

Q: Who did you watch growing up that made you want to dance and perform?A: Definitely Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson made me want to be a dancer and even James Brown. As far as acting, Robert Downey Jr. has easily been my biggest acting inspiration.

Q: How did Blackish end up happening for you?A: My first audition was the normal one where one of the producers interviews you in front of a camera. They must have liked me because they gave me a call back. The call back was the craziest audition that I ever did because all the cast was there. Everyone was there including the execuitive producer and creator, Kenya Barris. It was fun, but also nerve-wrecking, but they liked me. What's crazy is another show, one for Kevin Hart, wanted me at the same time as "that Anthony Anderson project", which is the non-title it had when I auditioned. So the shows had a small fight over me and how it was decided I'd do Blackish was both shows gave my mom and dad a script of the pilot to see which they liked better. My parents thought both were funny, but that Blackish was more family-orientated.

Q: Who is the biggest practical joker on the set of the show?A: Me and Anthony, easily. We both like to pull pranks on everyone. I like to scare people. I'm always sneaking up behind people to catch them off-guard. Anthony likes to improv a lot. He's like the Improv King. He's really good at it and I don't know how he does it.

Q: Who is the most serious cast member that always brings you guys back to center to work?A: It's usually Jennifer Lewis. She's like the set diva. Whenever she wants the set to be quiet she'll give the word and then *snap* it's quiet and we're ready to go. She will shhh you fast *laughs*

Q: How does your on-set tutoring work?A: I still go to public school so my school teach usually sends my Blackish teacher all the work that I'm supposed to be doing then when I do it my Blackish teacher checks it and goes over with me so that when I'm not working and in regular school I don't fall behind.

Q: How is it being on a big television show and then going to school? Is it crazy for you at all?A: Not really. Everyone at school treats me like I was never on TV so that's really cool. What is crazy is I go to a charter school, but there is also a middle school connected to it. So the middle school kids do go crazy over me sometimes when they see me because I don't go there. But everyone at MY school treats me the same.

Q: Can you tell me a little about your work with Sleep Number and the #CommitToSleep campaign?A: Well it's a really great campaign all about helping kids to know how to get better sleep. I used to not get a lot of good sleep and it made things harder for me in the daytime. But now I get better sleep and it helps me so much. Like I have lots of energy in the daytime and everyone on set calls me "Party Time".

Q: What's something that you'd like to try or do outside of acting when you get older?A: I wanna play in the NBA when I grow up. I started playing basketball even before I was dancing. For me in order it's basketball, then dancing, then acting. I've been playing ever since I can remember. I've always wanted to be in the NBA like my favorite player, LeBron.

Several sponsors have dropped Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova after she admitted she had tested positive for a banned substance at January's Australian Open

The five-times Grand Slam champion dropped the bombshell at a press conference at a Los Angeles hotel, confessing she had been found to have taken Mildronate - or Meldonium - which was prohibited from January 1 this year.

As one insider pointed out, "She took a prescription heart drug even though she clearly doesn't have a heart condition because that doesn't go with being a professional athlete. She took the drug because it was a potential performance enhancer which is why it was eventually banned when the authorities realised that some athletes were using it. If had been a simple over the counter pick-me-up which had been legal for all that time, it wouldn't look suspicious, but taking a prescription drug that she didn't have a valid medical condition to take, makes it look like she was pushing the boundaries to take a drug that other tennis players wouldn't have free access to.

Although Sharapova claims that she did not know that the substance which she was taking for 10 years was banned, the organisation says that every athlete was informed. A memo was sent out to Russian athletes by Russia's anti-doping agency last September informing them of the decision to ban its use,the news was also published on Russian's anti doping agency website,and WADA's website and she was informed by the WTA. Sharapova, they say, got plenty of memos.

The banned drug is used clinically to treat myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure.

"I don't quite understand why she would use it for flu,magnesium deficiency and family history of diabetes which she actually doesn't have,and it's not even approved in the USA where she lives," an insider commented.

Meanwhile, just hours after her announcement that she was taking a performance enhancing drug for ten years, the 28-year-old Sharapova lost her most lucrative deal - an eight-year contract extended in 2010 for a reported $70million with sportswear brand Nike, where she has her own clothing line.

Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer followed suit, saying that its contract with Sharapova had expired at the end of 2015 and it has pulled out of negotiations on a new agreement. Another one of her major partners, Porsche, said that while they are 'certainly not dumping' Sharapova, they are currently 'not pursuing any further activities' with her.

The International Tennis Federation has confirmed the star will be provisionally suspended from the sport from March 12, however, despite this, the president of the Russian Tennis Federation has said he expects Sharapova to play in the Olympics in Brazil in August this year.

In a statement on Monday night, Nike said: 'We are saddened and surprised by the news about Maria Sharapova. We have decided to suspend our relationship with Maria while the investigation continues. We will continue to monitor the situation.'

Sharapova earns $30million a year in endorsements, according to Forbes. Current endorsements include American Express, Avon, Evian, Porsche.Avon said on Tuesday morning that they are not commenting on their contract with Sharapova, who is the face of their fragrance called Luck.

Four - six weeks normal course of treatment for Sharapova drug, not TEN years.

The Latvian company that manufactures meldonium says the normal course of treatment for the drug is four to six weeks - not the 10 years that Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova says she used the substance.

The five-time Grand Slam champion said Monday she failed a doping test at the Australian Open in January for meldonium, which became a banned substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code this year.

The former No. 1 said she had taken meldonium, a heart medicine which improves blood flow and is little-known in the U.S., for a decade following various health problems including regular sicknesses, early signs of diabetes and "irregular" results from echocardiography exams.

"I was first given the substance back in 2006. I had several health issues going on at the time," she said. Sharapova didn't specify whether she had used it constantly since then.

Meldonium was banned because it aids oxygen uptake and endurance, and several athletes in various international sports have already been caught using it since it was banned on Jan. 1. Latvian company Grindeks, which manufactures meldonium, told The Associated Press that four to six weeks was a common course.

"Depending on the patient's health condition, treatment course of meldonium preparations may vary from four to six weeks. Treatment course can be repeated twice or thrice a year," the company said in an emailed statement. "Only physicians can follow and evaluate patient's health condition and state whether the patient should use meldonium for a longer period of time."

Grindeks did not comment when asked whether someone with the symptoms Sharapova described would be a suitable patient for meldonium. The company said it was designed for patients with chronic heart and circulation conditions, those recovering from illness or injury and people suffering with "reduced working capacity, physical and psycho-emotional overload."

Meldonium is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The AP was able to buy vials and tablets of meldonium over the counter in Moscow on Tuesday. Accompanying documentation stated that side effects could include blood pressure changes, irregular heartbeat and skin conditions.

While meldonium was banned as of Jan. 1, the decision to ban it had been announced by WADA and sports organizations as early as September 2015. Sharapova said she received an email with information on the changes in December, but did not read the information at the time.

The Pepsi Winnin' Riddim competition is down to the wire and the last eight out of 120 talented contestants have made their way to the finals. They are set to duke it out on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at the University of Technology with 10 infectious, original riddims set to rock the house.

The lucky eight, plus five wild cards, will showcase their work at the Alfred Sangster auditorium in the ultimate "Riddim play-off" as they compete for a slew of exciting top prizes.

According to O'neil Walters, Chief Executive Officer of Sretlaw Media Company- Executive Producers and conceptualizers of the competition, the grand finale will not only showcase the competing beats but will feature full blown entertainment performances around every riddim. "You will be seeing the beats come to life around music and dance as each riddim will be accompanied by some level of recording as well as a dance created to complement the piece."

The competition has two categories - the Club Tour - for 18- 35 year olds and the School Tour - for 13-17 year olds. Five contestants from each category will vie in a "beat-off" to walk away with top prizes of an Apple Macbook Pro complete with beat-making software valued at over $300,000; while one lucky contestant will receive a $150,000 scholarship from Excelsior Community College School of the Performing Arts.

Also up for grabs is a record producing contract with a major music production house.

Marketing Manager at Pepsi, Mitchell Watson, says he's very pleased with not only the quality work produced by the entrants but the support received from some the island's leading musicians and producers since the competition was launched on January 28, 2016.

Viewers can watch the show LIVE on FLOW TV or via live Stream on Pepsi's Facebook Page, Winnin Riddim's Facebook Page or 90 degrees LIVE on Saturday, March 12 , 2016 beginning at 9:00 p.m.

Accident-prone deejay, Gully Bop was involved in an accident last weekend, when he says the brakes on his vehicle failed, as he was negotiating a corner.

Gully Bop narrowly escaped serious injury after a motor vehicle accident in Montego Bay, St James over the weekend.The entertainer said that the accident was caused when his brakes failed while he was negotiating a hill.

"Mi just glad say no one was injured, it wasn't a big accident, a vehicle brake up before me, and when mi go fi brake, mi find say mi caan stop, so mi spin outta da vehicle de, and find miself ah head towards the gully, so mi clap back on the road and see the Honda Civic ah head on," he said.

"The people dem inna the vehicle start fret when dem see the head on, but mi say 'don't panic' cause mi know mi skill, so mi just bite it in between the two vehicle dem, and then mi click click the emergency brake till mi vehicle come to a stop down the hill. Ah skill mi skill why the accident never more serious," he said.

"Mi shoot a video Saturday night till Sunday morning with A'mari, and then head down to Montego Bay. It was a close one, the whole ah the man Honda Civic rip up, mi talk to him but ah insurance haffi go fix fi him car," said Gully Bop at the scene of the accident.

There have also been reports from eyewitnesses at the scene that the driver of Honda Civic was badly shaken up from the accident. Gully Bop, and his former fiancee Chin Chin, have been involved in numerous motor vehicle accidents over the past year.

Although the three teen alleged directly involved in the stabbing death of reggae singer Luciano's son, Menelik McClymont, are in custody, the perceived mastermind is still walking free.

Although the family is pleased that the police have charged the three, they are angry that another suspect, the one who allegedly drove the getaway vehicle has not been charged. Reports are that the fourth suspect is the one with whom Menelik had the argument, and was the one who commissioned the other three men to carry out the deadly attack

According to reports, "He and Menelik got into an argument and he left and came back with three other guys. I get to understand that he wasn't involved in the actual stabbing, but he was the owner of the getaway car, and he was the one who drove the guys away from the scene."

An evening tabloid has reported that a grieving Luciano noted that even though the fourth suspect might not have had a part in the actual stabbing, he should also be charged for his part in the act.

"I would feel better if he was charged," he expressed.

"He went for these guys and we can't allow him to get away with this. It is safer for everyone if he is brought to justice because I don't want this to happen to anybody else's child, and I don't want anything to happen to him and people say is me send people to harm him. A lot of people are hurt by this and are thinking of retaliating. I have to be telling people to remain calm because I am not about revenge, I am about justice."

McClymont, 19, died on Sunday, February 28, as a result of stab wounds he received the previous day at the Parkington Plaza in St Andrew after concluding classes at Maths Unlimited.

Dancehall King Moses Beenie Man Davis is a proud dad and is sharing the moment with fans.

His daughter, Crystal, whom he shares with Dancehall Queen Carlene, is getting ready for gradution from prestigious high school Hillel Academy, in St Andrew. Ahead of the big day, as is the norm, the pictures are taken of the upcoming graduates in their gowns, and it was one of these that Beenie shared with his fans on Twitter.

Looking very poised and grown up in her graduation gown and cap, with her make-up expertly done, presumably by her mom, Carlene, is the beautiful Crystal Davis.

"So proud of this beautiful young lady Ms. Crystal Davis," said Beenie Man of his 17 year-old daughter, who is also an athlete.

Investigators are trying to determine whether a contract was taken out on the life of Karetha Robinson, the National Commercial Bank employee who was abducted and killed last week.

A senior investigator told RJR News that detectives are following several leads.

The body of the 43 year old banker was found on Friday in Pembroke Hall, St. Andrew, hours after she was abducted from her home in Greater Portmore, St. Catherine. The body had a bullet wound to the neck.

Her stolen Toyota Rav4 was intercepted by a security team along Hilary Avenue in St. Andrew.

Two men fled from the vehicle, and are still being sought by the police.

The police have reportedly located the American woman who went missing in Montego Bay, St James on Saturday.

She is said to be in good health.

Police on Monday reported that 32-year-old Aaren Meckling, a citizen of the United States of America, was vacationing at a resort on Kent Avenue in Montego Bay and was last seen leaving the resort about 2:00 pm the day she went missing.

They have not released details of her whereabouts, or if she did, in fact, go missing, or was just hanging out with friends.

Although investigators have declared that Justice Antonin Scalia had died of natural causes and that there was no foul play involved, mystery continues to shroud his death amid the unusual circumstances before and during the discovery of his body.

The highly respected 79-year-old U.S. Supreme Court associate justice was found dead in his resort hotel room at Cibolo Creek Ranch in Texas on Saturday, WND reported.

According to Houston businessman and ranch owner John Poindexter, Scalia was "animated and engaged" during dinner Friday night. He was one of Poindexter's 36 guests that day.

Speaking to the San Antonio Express-News, Poindexter said, "Scalia was seated near me and I had a chance to observe him. He was very entertaining. But about 9 p.m. he said, 'It's been a long day and a long week, I want to get some sleep.'"

Poindexter said he knocked on Scalia's door at about 8:30 the next morning. The door was locked and the judge did not answer. Three hours later, the ranch owner returned from an outing and found Scalia still had not come out of his room.

Poindexter then went to Scalia's room again, unlocked the door and "discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head. His bed clothes were unwrinkled."

"He was lying very restfully. It looked like he had not quite awakened from a nap," he said.

"His hands were sort of almost folded on top of the sheets," Poindexter told the New York Times. "The sheets weren't rumpled up at all."

He said Scalia did not have a pulse and his body was cold. After consulting with a doctor at a hospital in Alpine, Poindexter realised that resuscitation would be pointless.

Authorities in remote West Texas then contacted Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara who pronounced Scalia dead of natural causes even without seeing the body. She also decided not to order an autopsy.A second justice of the peace, who was called but couldn't get to Scalia's body in time, said she would have ordered an autopsy, according to WND.

However, Scalia's family reportedly refused to have the justice's body autopsied.

Guevara admitted that she pronounced Scalia dead by phone, without seeing his body, and just relied on the statements made by law enforcement officials at the scene who assured her "there were no signs of foul play."

She said she also talked to Scalia's physician in Washington, who said that the justice suffered from a host of chronic conditions.

However, Guevara denied a report by a Dallas TV station that quoted her as saying that Scalia had died of "myocardial infarction." In an interview with The Washington Post, she said she meant only that his heart had stopped.

It was just another morning in Cincinnati, Ohio for 29-year-old Charles Harrell when he was making his way back from a early morning coffee run. Filming his trip, Harrell recorded his interaction with police officer Baron Osterman, who can be seen trailing behind Harrell on a bicycle. Sharing that the police office asked if he "had a problem," Harrell noted that this was a normal occurrence in his hometown.

"This is what we have to go through in Cincinnati, harassment" he said. "You can't be a black man and enjoy your morning, because the police are going to harass you in Cincinnati, Ohio."

As the video continues to roll, Osterman approaches Harrell for allegedly crossing against the light. In response, Harrell admits that he was frightened by the officer's trailing of him, stating, "You were scaring me, sir. I don't know why you're following me anyway. You followed me all the way down the street." Osterman then demands that Harrell put his phone and coffee on the ground. Refusing to lay his objects down, Harrell instead offers his I.D., and the officer become physical, warning him: "Don't reach around." Harrell is pinned against the wall and handcuffed.

According to Cincinnati.com, this is not the first time Officer Osterman has been linked to the use of excessive force. He reportedly was involved in the death of a black man, Nathaniel Jones, in 2003 in a local White Castle restaurant. The Citizen Complaint Authority ruled that Osterman and his fellow officer James Pike used excessive force in subduing Jones in 2004. They were both cleared in 2008 and awarded financial compensation.

Harrell was arrested for a pedestrian violation, resisting arrest and possession of a small amount of marijuana. The police department released a statement saying that the incident was up for internal review. Watch the footage of the incident below:

A coroner's jury in Cayman, considering the death of a Jamaican couple two years ago, returned verdicts on Friday after hearing evidence about the couple's volatile and abusive relationship.

They found that 21 year-old Nichelle Anna-Kay Thomas died from multiple chop wounds and the manner of death was unlawful killing.

For 39 year-old Devon Roy Campbell, the jurors found that the cause of death was hanging. His death was ruled a suicide.

The jury of three men and four women heard evidence over three days.

Miss Thomas's body was found on February 9, 2014, in a closet at the Bodden Town home where she worked as a part-time helper.

The police found Mr. Campbell's body hanging from a tree in the back yard.

The couple reportedly met in Jamaica when Ms. Thomas was 17 and still in high school. She went to Cayman in May 2012 and lived with Mr. Campbell.

The jurors heard that Mr. Campbell was jealous and controlling, and various witnesses testified that they had heard him threaten to kill her, for various reasons, particularly if she tried to leave him.

Three 18 year-olds -- Nashlyn Morgan, Jerome Coombs and Kemanie Shaw -- have been charged in connection with last month's fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Menelik McClymont, the son of reggae artiste Luciano.

Jerome Coombs, and and Kemanie Shaw, both 18 year-old students, were charged on Friday.

Nashlyn Morgan, another 18-year-old, was also charged.

The three are to appear in court on Wednesday.

Mr. McClymont, who was a student of Maths Unlimited, was attacked and stabbed several times by a group of men at Parkington Plaza on February 27.

Thirty-eight-year-old Mark Grey, a medical doctor practising in Manchester, has been charged with grievous sexual assault and procuring abortion arising from a case in which he has been accused of impregnating a 12-year-old girl.

The allegations against him were that twice in 2014, the doctor had sex with the then 12-year-old child, who became pregnant on both occasions. It was alleged that the doctor aborted both pregnancies.

Further allegations were that on a third occasion, in 2015, the doctor again had sex with the minor, and again she became pregnant. The third pregnancy was reportedly aborted at a local hospital.

Attorney Hensley Williams, who appeared on Grey's behalf in court on Wednesday, said there was no forensic evidence to substantiate the crown's claims, and no independent witness to support the allegations against his client.

Williams, in his bail application, argued that the complainant, who is now 14 years old, is suffering from a mental illness. He said his client has denied the allegations which were made by the girl.

Dr Grey was granted bail in the Mandeville Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday in the sum of $200,000 with surety.

Her son Marvin took over as plaintiff following his mother's death in October 2015 at age 62.

Fox's attorneys said the jury verdict was the first such case among more than 1,000 nationally to result in a monetary award.

Ms Fox claimed to have used the the pharmaceutical giant's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for more than 35 years.

The lawsuit alleged that in an effort to boost sales, the company failed for decades to warn consumers that its talc-based products could cause cancer.

The jury said that Ms Fox was entitled to $10 million in actual damages and $62 million in punitive damages.

The jurors in the circuit court of St. Louis found Johnson & Johnson liable for fraud, negligence and conspiracy, according to the family's lawyers.

Deliberations lasted four hours, following a three-week trial.

However, Johnson & Johnson maintains that scientific evidence shows that talc - which is marketed for babies' bottoms - is safe.

The company said in a statement to Reuters: 'With over 100 years of use, few ingredients have the same demonstrated performance, mildness and safety profile as cosmetic talc.'

Ms Fox died of ovarian cancer in October 2015, at which time her son Marvin took over as a plaintiff in the case. The suit claimed that she used Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder (pictured) and Shower to Shower for over 35 years

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Ms Fox died of ovarian cancer in October 2015, at which time her son Marvin took over as a plaintiff in the case. The suit claimed that she used Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder (pictured) and Shower to Shower for over 35 years

A Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman also said last week that the New Jersey-based company was considering whether to appear the verdict.

Carol Goodrich, spokeswoman, said: 'We have no higher responsibility than the health and safety of consumers, and we are disappointed with the outcome of the trial.

'We sympathize with the plaintiff's family but firmly believe the safety of cosmetic talc is supported by decades of scientific evidence.'

In October 2013, a federal jury in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, found that plaintiff Deane Berg's use of Johnson & Johnson's body powder products was a factor in her developing ovarian cancer at age 49.

Holy Trinity Manning Cup footballer Jordan Foote has lost his battle with cancer.

Jamaican Schoolboy Football announced Foote's passing in a Facebook post on Saturday morning.

"SchoolBoy Football team would like to offer our condolences to the family of Holy Trinity high School player Jordan Foote who has lost the battle against cancer," the post said.

Foote had been diagnosed with bone cancer last summer and missed the entire 2015 schoolboy football season. His left leg was amputated five inches above the knee in November, with several organisations donating money towards helping to pay for the surgical procedure on the youngster.

However, Foote's football coach Devon Anderson reported last month that the cancer had worsened and indicated that the situation was dire.

"We just have to hope for the best but expect the worst, and know if the inevitable comes, it comes, but I hope it doesn't come for now," Anderson, the coach of Holy Trinity's Manning Cup team, said.

Foote was an outstanding player for Holy Trinity before being diagnosed with the disease last summer, helping the team reach the Super Cup finals in 2014. In an interview with Loop News in November, he expressed confidence that he would one day play football again.

A 29-year-old woman who was pregnant with twinsreportedly died of the H1N1 virus, popularly called Swine Flu, at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

The woman is the fourth swine-flu related death in Jamaica since cases of the virus were first reported locally in early February, 2016.

A medical doctor, 50-year-old Suzanna Roye, who had also been hospitalised at the UHWI, was the first patient to die from H1N1-related issues in Jamaica. A 49-year-old woman, who had other illnesses, died a week later, followed by an 84-year-old woman days later.

The virus has been classified as a category one illness, which requires medical practitioners to notify the relevant public health authority within 24 hours of suspecting a case of severe acute respiratory illness.

Surgical oncologist Professor Michael Baum, of University College London, specialises in breast cancer treatment, and was one of the architects of the screening programme when it was set up in 1988.

More than 25 years later, he has called for the programme to be shut down, arguing it leads to healthy women being labelled 'cancer victims' and has not reduced the number of invasive tumours.

But Dr Michael Michell, a consultant radiologist based at King's College Hospital, insists cancer screening saves lives and would like to see women screened every two, rather than three, years.

Below, they lay out their arguments on whether or not the programme should be scrapped.

Michael Baum, Professor Emeritus of Surgery and visiting Professor of Medical Humanities in University College London, is a British surgical oncologist who specialises in breast cancer treatment.

Back in 1998, in all good faith, I set up the service for the NHS Breast Screening Programme.

Since then, I have become one of the most vociferous proponents for closing it down.

You probably want to know why I changed my mind so completely.

At the heart of this is the question, how do you explain to a woman that she is 'lucky' that we caught breast cancer early yet she ends up having a mastectomy?

And that she probably wouldn't have needed treatment at all if we hadn't called her in for a routine scan?

This is because mammograms can pick up a type of low-grade breast cancer called duct carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is contained just in the milk ducts and has not spread into any of the surrounding breast tissue - about 60 per cent of DCIS cases are picked up by routine breast screening.

Around half of these cancers turn out to be harmless. It is my view that too many healthy women are harmed by breast cancer screening.

Healthy Women Labelled Cancer Victims

Unlike most of the other members of the National Committee, I was directly involved in the day to day care of those women referred on to me as a consequence of the activities on the front line of the screening program.

I found it very distressing to have to cope with otherwise well women who had popped into the screening unit in Butterfly Walk for a mammogram at the invitation of the Department of Health (DoH) and then found themselves labelled as a cancer victim.

Worst of all were the unexpected high numbers diagnosed with duct carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a condition we rarely saw before screening began.

Many of these cases were multifocal and ended up with a mastectomy, yet they may well have turned out to be harmless.

None of the Department of Health staffers or public health specialists on the National committee had to face the reality of these heart-breaking interviews.

We were soon to learn that 20 per cent of the cancers diagnosed in Butterfly Walk were DCIS, yet before we opened our doors they amounted to less than one per cent of our practice.

I drew short term comfort from this observation assuming that in the fullness of time this initial peak in the incidence of DCIS would be followed by a fall in the incidence of invasive breast cancer.

"I feel great. I am happy that I was able to just let go and do it. I am not perfect but at the end of the day we have to learn to give God everything," is how much-loved actress Camille Davis describes her recent baptism.

"It's been something, that I've been avoiding. I wanted to do it a couple years now and I kept putting it off. But God has been speaking to my heart and I couldn't put it off any longer," she is reported as saying.

"Ryan Mark reached out to me and told me that the Lord is calling me and you know, it kinda brought tears to my eyes because that is what I have been feeling, I've been feeling the need to give my life to God," the bubbly Davis said.

She explained that her pastor, Ryan Mark was not the only one to reach out to her but for some reason other persons were coming to her with the same message.

"Different people kept coming up to me and asking,'are you a Christian?' I felt somehow that I was being sanctioned and this was God saying, stop ignoring me. It has never happened so intensely and so consistently before," she explained.

Reggae artiste Luciano has postponed his upcoming tour of the United Kingdom following the murder of his son in Half Way Tree, St Andrew, on Saturday.

Eighteen year-old, Menelik McClymont, was stabbed and killed by a group of boys from uptown and their friends from the ghetto, outside his school at the Parkington Plaza.

In a release, Luciano's management expressed regret that the tour had to be postponed but said the singer was deeply affected by the tragedy.

"Even though Luciano still, initially wanted to fulfil the obligations of doing the tour, the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of his son has really affected him and so we are forced to postpone all shows until further notice," the release stated.

Luciano however assured his fans that he would be rescheduling all dates and would eventually fulfil his contractual obligations.

The St Lucia Tourist Board is pulling out all stops for this year's Jazz and Arts Festiva, which runs from April 29 to May 8, 2016.

Now in its 25th year, the festival, which has evolved to incorporate an arts component with fashion and a marketplace for St Lucian artisans, would feature artistes to suit every taste.

For the youth, there will be Jamaican stars Shaggy and Omi, for the not so young: George Benson, Kool and the Gang and Air Supply, and for the lovers of Latin music, Marc Anthony will headline the event while Kassav will satisfy the souls of the creole music lovers.

One of the few regional festivals that promote real jazz, St Lucia will be going back to its jazz roots in a big way with artistes such as guitarist Ronald "Boo" Hinkson, Donald Harrison Jnr, jazz guitarist Chris Standring, musical group BWB and child prodigy, pianist Joey Alexander, among others.

Representatives from the St Lucia Tourist Board were in Trinidad last night at the National Museum where they unveiled the line up for this year with promises of more names to be released.

Bobbi Kristina Brown died from a combination of alcohol, drugs and drowning - but it's still unclear whether her death was murder, suicide or an accident.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office in Atlanta released a statement Friday morning - on what would have been Bobbi Kristina's 23rd birthday - about her death as it prepares to release the full autopsy report.

According to the statement, Bobbi Kristina died of lobar pneumonia, which was caused by the combination of drugs found in her system, drowning and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy - a neurological condition resulting from a lack of oxygen to the brain.

The 22-year-old only daughter of singers Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta town house on January 31, 2015, and died in hospice care on July 26 after spending months in a coma.

The office says it reviewed medical records, investigative files and other documents to determine how Bobbi Kristina likely died. The medical examiner's office says marijuana and alcohol were involved in the death, along with medications used for sedation or to treat anxiety.

They also said the autopsy alone could not reveal the underlying cause of death because of the long interval between Brown being found unresponsive in the bathtub and her eventual death. They also do not say if it was an accident or not - leaving questions about her boyfriend Nick Gordon's possible role in her death up in the air.

Her death was 'clearly not due to natural causes', but they can't tell if it was due to intentional or accidental causes, and the coroner classified the manner of death 'undetermined'.

Jamaica's new prime minister, Andrew Holness, will receive a basic salary of $7.3 million, in addition to $1.2 million in travel allowance, while leader of the opposition, Portia Simpson Milller will get $6.4 million and the minister of finance $5.9 million.

Other cabinet ministers and the Speaker of the House get $5.5 million per year while junior ministers get $4.8 million. Parliamentary secretaries and the deputy speaker get $4.1 million. All other parliamentarians - those who do not hold executive positions - get just under $3.5 million per year. Senators get $17,000 per sitting or for committee meetings.

But its not just salaries, the Leader of the Opposition gets $276,000 per year as housing allowance while junior ministers and parliamentary secretaries get $207,000.

Housing allowance is not given to backbenchers or the deputy speaker. All mp's except backbenchers get $78,000 as subsistence per year and most get a telephone allowance each year amounting to $30,000.

All mp's are also entitled to a chauffeur and constituency secretary. That constituency secretary gets $956,000 per year and the chauffeurs get between $469,000 and $500,000 basic but that can be supplemented with commuted overtime and subsistence which can run an additional $190,000 to $260,000.

Cabinet members, junior minsters and parliamentary secretaries are also allowed household help with ministers getting 2 and the junior ministers and parliamentary secretaries one each.

The household staff are paid by parliament at a cost of $481,000 each per year.

Pictures of anal sex and oral sex taking place between a well-known lecturer at a prominent university and one of his students have been leaked on social media and the reaction has been wild!

Many persons suspected that the married lecturer and his female student, with whom he was very chummy, were getting their groove on ... and the explicit picture confirmed it. The big question is: Who took the pictures and who leaked them online?

The pictures which were leaked showed the face of the female clearly, but the lecturer's face was not in any of the photographs released.

The official word from the university is that they were ignorat of the pictures and the allegations, but the matter would be investigated.

Officials in Clark County, Nevada, home to Sin City, issued an official warning about a syphilis outbreak after confirming 694 new cases of the sexually transmitted infection, 615 of them in men, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That's a 128% increase over the number of cases confirmed in 2012.

The increase gives Nevada the dubious honor of the state in the western U.S. with the highest rate of syphilis, according to the Associated Press.

"We are considering this an outbreak because disease rates in our community are continuing to climb and we see no plateau at this point," Chief Health Officer Joe Iser said in a statement to the Review-Journal.

In its early stages, the bacterial infection can cause open sores called chancres that are often mistaken for a symptom of some other condition, according to the CDC. In later stages of the condition, it can cause rashes across the body, or invade the ocular or nervous systems, potentially leading to life-threatening complications.

While some of the increase in syphilis rates could be tied to population increases or increased detection rates, the AP reported, health officials say an increase in inconsistent condom use as well as anonymous app-assisted hookups hold some of the blame.

That latter explanation is more complicated than it seems, since meeting people online is just one potential risk factor for contracting a sexually transmitted infection.

"It's never as simple as being 'just' about an app," Debby Herbenick, an Indiana University sexual health expert, told Mic's Nicolas DiDomizio in 2015. "I have had a few students who have met sex partners through Tinder and gotten an STI through such encounters, but I've also had students who have gotten STIs from people they were dating or had sex with at a party, who they had just met."

Las Vegas disease investigator Elizabeth Adelman told the AP that health authorities had "sought permission for a passive presence on platforms such as the gay website Adam4Adam, so users can reach out to them for information. Other popular apps that officials are looking at include Tinder and Grindr."

Jamaica Labour Party activist Rameish Simpson, who was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, is back in police custody for breaching his bail condition.

Simpson, who was out on J$3 million bail, was ordered to be at home during the hours 6.00 p.m to 6.00 a.m daily, but according to reports when the St. Thomas police visited his house about 6.00 p.m on Teusday he was not there.

He reportedly turned up 15 minutes later and was taken into custody. His attorney, Hensley Williams, attended the Yallahs Night Court to argue that the curfew breach was not major.

However, due to the absence of Simpson's file, the judge could not address the matter, as a result of which he is scheduled to return to court on Thursday.

Simpson and his cousin Richard Simpson were charged in December, after a firearm and ammunition were allegedly found in a vehicle in which they were traveling.

The St. Ann traffic division has launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding a fatal collision, which claimed the lives of two men and the injuring of two others Monday, on the Llandovery main road, Runaway Bay, St. Ann.

Dead are 26-year-old Donavan Haye, of Clarks Town, St. Ann and Nicholas Henderson.

Reports are that about 3:00 p.m., the driver of an Isuzu tipper motor truck was travelling along the roadway, when on reaching a section of the roadway, collided with an Isuzu box motor truck, which was travelling in the opposite direction.

Four men received multiple injuries and were taken to hospital where Haye and Henderson died while being treated and the other two admitted.

A Christian student has been ejected from his university course for voicing his opposition to gay marriage on Facebook.

Felix Ngole, 38, was expelled from Sheffield University after faculty staff decided he 'may have caused offence to some individuals'.

The postgraduate father of four, who was studying to become a social worker, has been told his actions affect his fitness to practise and was ordered to hand back his student ID and library card.

Mr Ngole was reported after using his private Facebook account to express support for Kim Davis, a county clerk from Kentucky, who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences after the introduction of same-sex unions there last September.

Mr Ngole argued that homosexual activity is against the teaching of the Bible, quoting a verse from Leviticus describing it as an 'abomination'.

Yesterday, he said he was appealing the university's decision because the case had wider consequences for the 'freedom of religion and freedom of expression'.

Claiming he had been censored, he added: 'The university claims my views are discriminatory, but I am the one being discriminated against because of my expression of Christian beliefs.

'I wonder whether the university would have taken any action if a Muslim student who believes in Sharia law, with its teaching about women and homosexuality, had made moderate comments on his Facebook page. I don't think so.'

Following a disciplinary hearing, the student was told he had brought his profession 'into disrepute' and breached 'personal conduct' guidelines. A separate 'fitness to practise' panel later concluded that he was entitled to his opinion about gay marriage but may have 'caused offence to some individuals'.

They said his comment would affect his ability to operate in the social work profession even though he was not yet qualified.

It was quite a hair-raising scene outside the North Street campus of Kingston College on Monday morning as more than 70 tenneage boys were barred from sitting their mock exams for CSEC and CAPE because their hair was either "too high" or "not on one level".

Students who arived for the 7:45am start of their exams were screened at the internal gate by Mr Walker, the guidance-counsellor-turned- dean-of-discipline whose shiny bald pate glistened in the early morning sun. Stern and expressionless, he held the gate firmly and efectively blocked the entrance of any student who his mind told him was not adhering to the institution's rigid and questionably silly rule on hair. Mr Walker pointed out quite pompously that "many of these boys are repeat offenders". (Repeat offenders!!?? What the hell!! Since when did having a light fade or hair that is higher than two inches constitute a crime? Why is KC labelling these impressionable boys in this derogatory manner. A "repeat offender" conjures up negative images of weed-smoking, knife-brandishing, house-breaking, thieving thugs...none of which could conceivably be applied to 99 per cent of the well-groomed, articulate boys who were cruelly banned from siting their exams.)

Playing the role of a black St Peter holding the gate to heaven, the righteous Mr Walker arrogantly decided who was sinner and who was saint, but it was obvious that many times he erred. (Yes, he screwed up.) There were several instances of boys with identical hair cuts walking up to the gate, but some were ushered through the pearly gates, while others were condemned to purgatory, looking very confused...and scratching their hair

"But my youth, how him just let through (name deleted) and him hair look even higher than yours?"

"Dem man deh pon di tracks team."

"Jah know Star. A same way so it go. Better me go a my yaad. Dawg, mi wi link you pon Whatsapp."

One very vocal mother, who was clearly fed up with the perennial nonsense from the once-prestigious all boys institution which is now living off its impressive legacy, was the voice of the voiceless. It was perhaps she who called the Gleaner company to do a report on the pointless activities, which she branded "cruel and spiteful", mainly because it was carried out on a morning when Grade 11 had Mathematics, an exam which every Grade 11 student must sit.

Naturally, her chiding remarks did not sit well with St Peter, who in turn scathingly told the reporters that "It's parents like these who stir up the boys," even as he tried his best to explain away this senseless act of locking the students out of their important exams, which will directly impact their status for graduation. "We have warned them many times about their hair. It is on the back of their exam timetable. I am here every morning," were his frail, pathetic excuses.

The mother in turn heaped damnation on the cruelty being executed by the oh-so-holy man, and was equally scathing in her retort which reiterated the spitefulness of this entire exercise. "Why did you choose to do something as spiteful as this during mock exams? Does the punishment fit the crime? How can you send out people's children to wander the streets of downtown, especially in a time like this when there is so much tension in the air over the Election results? Kingston College has surely dropped the ball big time on this one," she was overheard saying, as she requested prayers over the phone from Pastor Dionne Bryce-Wells from the Temple of Restoration.

Actually, the full extent of this cruel act was further made obvious when a smirking St Peter later informed the boys and the three parents present that all those who did not sit the exam would be given a big fat zero on their report - NOT ABSENT. Also, this would impact on whether or not these boys would be eligible for graduation.

The People's National Party (PNP) is denying that it is planning to use the courts to prevent the inauguration of Andrew Holness as Prime Minister.

Dr Horace Chang, General Secretary of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), made the claim on Sunday; however, PNP General Secretary Paul Burke, in response, declared that the statement was unsubstantiated.

"There are many bad rumours going around; the PNP has no plans to carry out any court action to stop Mr. Holness from being sworn in. We will accept the democratic results of the 2016 general election," Burke said.

Meanwhile, the Political Ombudsman is urging all Jamaicans to ignore rumours and speculation regarding the final count of ballots.

"I'm urging us to be attentive to what we are hearing in the press, be calm and let us see what the official count will be and when the Director of Elections will advise Jamaica on the final outcome of the elections," she said.

Jamaica's three-man male team made the perfect start at the World Table Tennis Championships in Malaysia as they blanked Morocco 3-0 in Group 4 on Monday.

The team, which comprises Kingston College old boys Kane Watson and Mark Phillips, along with US-based Michael Hyatt, made light work of their opponents to begin life in a higher class, having won group five at the last tournament.

They turned back Morocco 3-0 in their Group P encounter. Hyatt won 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 in the opening game while Watson took his game 13-11, 11-5, 11-7 and Phillips won 11-4, 12-10, 11-3.

Jamaica sits in second spot in the group with two points, one behind Morocco on 3 after they came back to beat Ghana 3-0.

The team now gets a bye in the second round and will next be in action in the third round against Laos on Tuesday. Laos meanwhile opened their campaign with victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In possibly the biggest upset of the opening day, 23rd seeded Democratic Republic of Korea defeated the 10th seeded Chinese Taipei men's team who had won bronze in 2014.

A total of 87 men's and 78 women's teams representing 94 countries are in Kuala Lumpar at the Championships participating in 4 different divisions.

English-based player Christopher Lewis failed acquire his Jamaican passport in time to represent the country.

Menelik, the 19 year-old son of reggae star Luciano, was stabbed and killed in the vicinity of Maths Unlimited in Parkington Plaza on Saturday evening.

"The youth ah go school, and dem lay wait him, him pass some yute, and dem say 'weh yu a look pon mi so?'. Some little unnecessary tings mi see that gwaan wid dem yute ya, dem anxious fi kill, is like dem have bitterness inna dem heart. Him come out and go inna altercation and before yu look. knife pop out and dem stab him up. Last night, mi de a hospital the whole night, dem really try with him," Luciano, whose real name is Jepther McClymont, said in a video posted online.

He made an appeal to the public for any information that can lead to the apprehension of those responsible for his son's death. The stabbing occurred in the .

"Right now, mi need some information. Anyone with information who know these culprits, cause dem drive off inna vehicle. These culprits cannot just get away with taking an innocent life," Luciano pleaded.

The police confirmed that 19 year-old Menelik McClymont, a student of 21 Westminister Crescent, Kingston 10, was killed on February 27th at 2:30 pm. He was stabbed by three men in the vicinity of Maths Unlimited in Parkington Plaza, Kingston 10. He was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where he eventually succumbed to his injuries at about 1:30 am. on Sunday morning, February 28th.

It's all good for media personality Amelia 'Milk' Sewell as she recently signed a six-figure endorsement deal with Strong Back Vitality Drink. Milk's supporters are rejoicing for her and giving her the thumbs up for getting back in the spotlight.

"Only the strong survive you go girl there are those of us out here that's rooting for you; much love and blessings girl," one fan shouted on Facebook.

According to Milk, who was recently hired Fame Fm's newest Entertainment Reporter/producer, "Everything in my life happens full circle, I fall down seven times and get up back eight. I am very grateful for the confidence Mr. Pinnock has showed in me ...Strong Back and Milk make a very potent concoction...we go very well together..."

She added, "The Strong Back vitality drink was launched recently via a very tongue in cheek television ad campaign and I have been getting a lot of strong feedback via social media about my role in the ad."

The manufacturer has revealed that sales have quadrupled since the ad campaign in February.

The vitality drink is also available in The Bahamas. This product is one of many bearing the 'Strong Back' brand - in reference to the strong back root that has become synonymous in Jamaican folklore with improving sexual performance, particularly with men. The root, which features natural aphrodisiac properties, grows naturally throughout the rural areas of the island and can also survive long dry spells.

Rapper Jeezy's teeth allegedly fell out of his mouth during a concert in Jacksonville, Florida, according to many online sources.

A photo of Jeezy reportedly without his teeth has been making the rounds on the Internet. The rapper had in a grill, but it would appear that he also had in dentures, which fell out, if the stories circulating are in fact true.

Earlier this month, Jeezy cursed out a fan who touched him during a concert.

"Don't f#$%ing touch me," Pastor Young said to a male fan at the time.

The Georgia rapper released his Church In These Streets album in November.

A just rumours dem spreading is the response from veteran deejay Ninjaman about claims on social media that his allegedly homosexual son is dead.

Entertainer Ninjaman has denied rumours that emerged on social media that his son had been brutally stabbed to death.

"If that happened, there would be photos of that all over the Internet, remember say he went and made himself famous during the national elections so if that happened, people woulda muss know if is true by now. Ah just rumours some irresponsible people ah spread," Ninjaman said.

A video of Ninjaman's son driving a car in which orange-clad gay men openly declared their homosexuality during a PNP motorcade went viral during the height of the recent General Elections.

A parish manager at the National Works Agency (NWA) was killed by gunmen in Lyssons, St Thomas shortly after midnight this morning.

He has been identified as 30-year-old Theos Blake.

Blake was shot dead as he visited friends on Lyssons Road in Morant Bay.

The police's Corporate Communications Unit says the incident happened about 12:05 a.m. when Blake was attacked by armed men. Explosions were heard and Blake's body was found, face down, by his friends.

So far no motive has been identified for the killing. The police continue to investigate.

The real-life "Jackie Brown" flight attendant who allegedly ditched two suitcases full of cocaine at a Los Angeles airport tearfully defended herself to her broken-up father.

"Somebody gave her the bag," her sullen dad told The Post on Saturday outside the family home in South Jamaica, Queens.

The father, who wouldn't give his name, recalled the emotional encounter with his little girl, 31-year-old Marsha Gay Reynolds, just before she landed behind bars on Wednesday.

"She broke down, of course," he said slowly, in a hushed voice. "She said she didn't know what was in" the luggage. "I'm not in a good place right now," he confessed, looking at the ground.

Prosecutors aren't buying her story and believe Reynolds had carried drugs before and only got cold feet after being randomly stopped at an LAX checkpoint for airline workers.

The JetBlue worker was heading to board a flight to La Guardia Airport on Friday when she kicked off her Gucci heels, dropped her bags stuffed with 60 pounds of drugs - $3 million worth - and bolted, according to police.

"She knew if she dropped both [her bags and heels], she'd be able to run away more quickly," said Marshall McClain of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association. "She was then able to hotfoot it out of the terminal, down an up escalator while barefoot, where we assume she got into a car and took off to parts unknown."

McClain told the Los Angeles Times he doesn't think it was Reynolds' first rodeo.

"I don't believe anybody would trust a mule with that amount of dope the first time out," he said.

Following the drug dump, Reynolds, who is a nursing student at Mercy College, caught a flight to New York and holed up in the Hilton hotel near JFK Airport, sources said. She surrendered to authorities Wednesday and was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Thirty-two-year-old police constable Ewan Duncan has been missing since Friday, February 12.

Duncan, who was attached to the Mobile Reserve lived in Fellowship Hall, Oracabessa, St. Mary

He is of brown complexion, stout build and is about 180 centimetres (5 feet 11 inches) tall.

The Oracabessa Police say about 4:30 a.m., on February 12, Duncan left home to go swimming and has not been seen or heard from since.

At the time he went missing, he was wearing a white turtle-neck shirt, grey jeans pants and grey sneakers.

Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Constable Ewan Duncan is being asked to contact the Oracabessa Police at 975-3233, Port Maria Police Station at 994-2223, Police 119 emergency number or the nearest Police Station.

The Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw, says the government will have to find a new source of funds to help finance its planned income tax break for workers earning up to $1.5 million.

According to Shaw, the JLP had assumed that the money collected from the gas tax could be used to partially fund the tax break, but he said those funds had already been used up in the consolidated fund under the previous People's National Party administration.

He made the disclosure at a Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica breakfast on Tuesday.

However, many analysts had taken the JLP's tax break apart in the run up to the February 25 general elections and told them louldly that the plan was simply not feasible.

According to Shaw the government remains committed to implementing the income tax break, which was promised during the recent election campaign. It forms a part of the Jamaica Labour Party's 10-point Plan for Growth and Job Creation.

The JLP had planned to use an estimated $9.5 billion from the gas tax to help fund the measure that is expected to cost the country $12.5 billion.

People, oonu memba Bobo Zarro? The same Rastaman who did deh wid Amber from Irie and who talk up a bag a tingz when Amber get pregnant fi Octane. Poor Bobo Zarro did seh how him did tink seh Octane was him friend and how Octane use to all come a him house when Amber and Bobo Zarro did deh. Anyway, Bbo Zarro did seh him still love Amber and him woulda did look after the baby, even though him wasn't di father.

Well, y'alll gonne look at Zarro wid new respect. Him neva did mek it too big inna di music biz, but the esteemed Bobo Zarro is now the father of a real life queen. According to one sinting wha' we did a read: "Chanel Chin, daughter of Rastafarian reggae artiste Ludlow Chin better known as Bobo Zaro, and Marion Morgan, is now queen of the Iwo Kingdom after her marriage to King Adbul Rasheed Adewale Akanbi earlier this year."

We nuh need fi go no further.

But just one question we a ask. Does that mean that Bobo Zarro is now like a King or something?

Glen Grays, a postal worker in Brooklyn, had his delivery route cut short on St. Patrick's Day when he was handcuffed by four plainclothes police officers and placed in an unmarked car.

Cellphone video filmed by a bystander shows Grays in his postal service uniform, holding a package, when the officers approach him. The video doesn't show what led up to the encounter.

The footage was released this week by Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, who said Grays had been "carrying out his normal duties" as a mail carrier when he got out of his truck and "a vehicle passed by him, almost striking him."

"He made comments to the vehicle, as any New Yorker would," Adams said at a news conference Wednesday. "The occupants of the vehicle stopped, backed up when he was crossing the street delivering the package."

Those occupants were the four plainclothes officers who followed Grays to his delivery stop, according to Adams. The video shows the officers tell Gray to "stop resisting." They then take him away in handcuffs, leaving his mail truck unattended.

Yelling at the unmarked car about driving recklessly "is the only action that Glen did that day that caused those plainclothes officers to stop their vehicle and to show who's the biggest and the baddest, and place handcuffs on an on-duty postal employee who is delivering the U.S. mail," Adams said. "If they would do that to Glen, in his postal uniform, they would do it to any other person of color in this community."

Asked about the incident, the New York Police Department said only that "the matter is under internal review."

Mayor Bill de Blasio "will be in close touch" with New York City Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton "about this incident's investigation and findings," Monica Klein, the mayor's deputy press secretary, said in a statement.

"We expect all members of NYPD to act professionally and respectfully," Klein said.

Grays, who said he was issued a summons for disorderly conduct, is engaged to a New York police officer he met while on his delivery route, the New York Times reported.

Adams said the incident has "traumatized" Grays, who has never been arrested or received a summons from police before.

Adams said that Grays did nothing wrong in the video, adding: "It's hard not the believe that the only reason Glen was handcuffed is because [of] the color of his skin."

Grays is African American.

The police department in New York has come under fire in the past for policies that critics said disproportionately targeted people of color.

Fatal encounters with New York City police have brought additional scrutiny to the department: In 2014, an unarmed black man, Eric Garner, died after he was taken to the ground by officers and put in what appeared to be a chokehold. The incident was caught on tape and ignited protests across the country, with Garner's last words, "I can't breathe," becoming a rallying cry.

That same year, a rookie officer fatally shot Akai Gurley, an unarmed black man, in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project. The officer, Peter Liang, was convicted of manslaughter and fired from the department.

In 1999, an unarmed African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, was gunned down by four New York City police officers in front of his apartment building, killed in a hail of 41 bullets.

Sonya Sapp, the mother of Glen Grays, said this week that she cried when she watched the video of her son's arrest. He is the eldest of her six sons.

"I worry about all my boys, every minute, every second of every day," Sapp said at a news conference Wednesday.

The video begins by showing plainclothes officers approaching Grays, who is holding a package. Not all of the words they exchange are clear.

"You want my ID? My ID is right there inside of the truck," Grays tells the officers, pointing to the vehicle.

The officers tell him to get his ID. Grays is heard telling them he is delivering his postal route. Two officers physically pull him away from the door. The package, having fallen to the ground, is kicked away by an officer.

Four officers surround Grays, who repeats, frustrated: "I'm not resisting."

"Get off of me," he says.

The four plainclothes officers eventually lead Grays, handcuffed, to their unmarked black car.

An officer frisks him and puts him in the car.

Bystanders yell at the officers throughout the encounter. Some recognize Grays and call out to him by name. The video ends there.

Adams, the borough president, said that after the police vehicle drove away, it rear-ended another car and that Grays, who wasn't placed in a seatbelt, was injured in the crash.

"The driver, who had turned around to taunt him, hit the vehicle in front of them, Mr. Grays said, causing him to bang his shoulder against the front seat. Mr. Grays was then taken to the 71st Precinct station, where he was issued a summons for disorderly conduct that will require him to appear in court. He was then released."

Adams denounced the actions of the officers, saying he was deeply troubled by the treatment of a federal employee and that the "major steps" taken by de Blasio and Bratton to reform police practices haven't gotten "down to the street."

"This could have been another Eric Garner situation if Glen had not responded as calmly as he did," Adams said.

Lt. Stitchie is back in Jamaica after completing an approximately six week tour in Europe. He made appearances in several cities, namely: Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Aarhus, Odense, Hamburg, and Frankfurt.

Regretfully, a few shows were cancelled due to breaches made by promoters. None the less, all persons involved in the planning and execution of the tour, believes it was very victorious. The tour was hosted by Jam Link Intl. a cultural association based in Denmark.

Now that he is back on the island, Stitchie is hoping to shoot two music videos, one for "undisputed," a newly released single on the Life 101 Riddim by Blakkwuman22 Music and "nuh tek nuh talk," a track produced by Hit Matic Records.

Following the production of both videos he will head to the United States for several shows with Lady Saw.

Reggae's newest musical sensation Nesbeth has a big date in New York on Memorial Monday, May 30, 2016. Three months after he shared stage with Andrew Holness at the Prime Minster's swearing-in ceremony at Kings House in Jamaica, tri-state area music fans will get the opportunity to see Nesbeth perform live in concert for the first time at the third annual Oracabessa Festival at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, NY.

Nesbeth, born Greg Nesbeth is living his dream with arguably the biggest reggae song globally right now. Released last October, 'My Dream' zoomed to the top of the charts in Jamaica and the Diaspora. It was an anthem during the 2016 political campaign for both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP). The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) in an attempt to drum up support for the upcoming Jamaica vs Costa Rica World Cup qualifier match on March 25, recently selected the revered hit single as the theme song for the event.

"The song speaks to people," Nesbeth was quoted as saying.

On stage, Nesbeth is a crowd favorite. He showed his mettle at this year's Rebel Salute at Plantation Cove in St Ann where he thrilled thousands of music fans who sang his hit song word for word. It was an outstanding performance that also excited Oracabessa Festival executives who booked him for his first outdoor New York gig.

"We are thrilled at Irie Jam radio and so is the entire tri-state area to have this crowd favorite perform live on stage at the Oracabessa Festival. 'My Dream' is a fan favorite here on Irie Jam Radio an we are exited we landed him first" noted event organizer Bobby Clarke.

The Oracabessa Festival in three short years has built a reputation for showcasing the biggest and the best talents out of Jamaica. Two years ago festival organizers signed Tessanne Chin for her very first performance in the tri-state after she won The Voice season five and what a success story that was.

Fraud squad police believe they have cracked a fraud scheme in which a business place was fleeced of over $62 million by one of its managers.

Detectives assigned to the Fraud Squad at the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) reported that, on Monday, they arrested and charged 37-year-old Taneka Stewart-Blake, of a Mahoe Avenue address in Old Harbour, St Catherine.

Reports are that Stewart-Blake was a manager at a prominent business place in Mandeville, Manchester between December 2008 and December 2015.

It is reported that she misrepresented the daily sales at the company and pocketed $62,753,681.

The matter was reported to Fraud Squad and an investigation subsequently launched.

Stewart-Blake was arrested and charged on Monday, March 21 and is to appear before the Corporate Area Criminal Court on Wednesday, March 30. She has not been offered bail.

Health officials in Jamaica are highly concerned about the state in which a Jamaican man working at the United States military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was transferred to Kingston for emergency medical care.

Heightening the concerns of health officials is the non-response by US Embassy officials in Kingston to request for information to guide them on the course of treatment of the injured man who said to be in critical condition at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

Reports are that the man, who was employed to a Jamaican contractor at the US military base, developed a dental abscess and sustained complications after attempts were made to drain it.

Reports are that no medical data on the sick man was supplied at the time of transfer, no were local health officials notified prior to arrival.

According to sources in the public health sector here, attempts to get assistance from the United States Embassy have been unsuccessful.

As a result, one local health official has suggested that the Jamaican government put measures in place to ensure that a similar incident is not repeated.

The JetBlue flight attendant accused of attempting to smuggle nearly 70 pounds of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport will remain in custody in a New York jail.

The judge overseeing the case, Viktor V. Pohorelsky, had originally granted 31-year-old Marsha Reynolds $500,000 bail during a hearing in a Brooklyn court Thursday, a decision he made in large part because she surrendered herself, he said. But a judge in Los Angeles, from where she fled to New York, overturned the decision late Thursday and Reynolds' attorneys failed today in New York federal court to have the L.A. decision overturned. So she will remain in police custody until April 7, when she will appear in front of a California court.

It is unclear when she will be transported to California by U.S. Marshals.Reynolds was charged with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine after she allegedly dropped a suitcase full of the drugs at an airport security checkpoint at LAX airport on March 18, before fleeing. She turned herself into authorities in New York Wednesday.

A family spokesman, Allan Jennings, said after Thursday's bail hearing that Reynolds maintains she did not know what was inside the bag when she was at the airport.

LAX police soon after found 11 packages of cocaine wrapped in green cellophane and labeled, "BIG Ranch" inside one of the bags Reynolds had left behind, the affidavit says.The cocaine weighed just over 68 pounds. Wholesale, the drugs would be worth about $750,000 in Los Angeles, said Special Agent Timothy Massino, a spokesman for the US Drug Enforcement Administration. On the streets of Los Angeles, Massino said the retail value of the cocaine could be as high as $3 million.

Security threats from "insiders," including airline and airport employees and workers hired by contractors, have been a focus of the TSA, particularly after the December 2014 arrest of several Delta Air Lines baggage handlers. Prosecutors allege they smuggled guns, including an AK-47, from Atlanta to New York.

The former Mis Jamaica contestant and JetBlue flight attendant arrested in an LAX cocaine smuggling case is "a very accomplished young lady" and the allegations are "completely out of character," her attorney said.

Dennis J. Ring said it was too early in the case to answer specific allegations against Marsha Gay Reynolds but defended her character. He said she is a U.S. citizen born in Jamaica who had competed in beauty pageants in the past. She was studying to become a nurse while working for JetBlue, he said.

Reynolds is a former beauty pageant contestant and has been a New York-based JetBlue employee for six years. She is also a full-time nursing student.

Her New York lawyer, Brad Mazarin, told ABC News she is in "high spirits," calling her a "very nice young lady." But the case is now out of his hands, he said.Reynolds, who worked for JetBlue Airways, kicked off her heels and fled Terminal 4 around 7 p.m. Friday, just minutes after she was randomly selected for additional screening, according to a criminal complaint filed this week. Barreling the wrong way down an escalator, Reynolds sprinted out of the terminal and disappeared outside.

TSA officials did not pursue her because they were concerned her abandoned luggage might have contained explosives, the complaint said. When they did investigate her luggage, they found it loaded with 70 pounds of cocaine.

Now, questions are being asked about how Reynolds was able to elude authorities. Even though her airline crew member badge had been scanned at a security checkpoint moments before she fled LAX, authorities were unable to identify her until the following day. It took until Saturday for authorities in Washington, D.C., to identify Reynolds from the database, according to a source with knowledge of the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authorization to discuss the case with the media.

An FBI spokeswoman said investigators learned Reynolds' identity hours after the 31-year-old boarded a flight Saturday from Los Angeles International Airport to New York, where she resides.

The TSA officer who had scanned her badge told airport police he remembered her last name, according to the source with knowledge of the case. That information should have been enough to stop Reynolds from boarding a second flight, the source said. The difficulty in identifying Reynolds - and the ease with which she managed to escape the terminal Friday - highlighted serious security flaws at the nation's second-largest airport, said Marshall McClain, president of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Assn.

Jamaican dancer Fire Gyal Flexi has had her moment in the spotlight since a vieo of her dramatically setting her vagina ablze has gone viral, with even TMZ doing a story on her.

According to TMZ: "Fire Gal Flexi -- a competitor in a Dancehall contest -- tells us the incendiary moment was accidental. Her plan was to put rubbing alcohol on her crotch, which she would lite and then immediately smother the flames.

Problem was ... she applied way too much alcohol, and she became a human torch.

Flexi is a little lighter Wednesday -- literally and figuratively -- she suffered 1st degree burns and lost layers of skin, but pressed on and won the dance competition, scoring a trophy and $500 prize.

She'll now go on to the international contest in Jamaica. Hopefully, TSA will confiscate the rubbing alcohol."

Scores of gay squatters who ere eviceted from a house in an affluent neighbourhood in 2013 are right back where they started. The men, who have been accused of being a nuisance since they returned some three months ago, reportedly keep growing in numbers

Estimates are that over 30 cross-dressers and homosexuals are now living at the St Andrew residence much to the disgust of their neighbours.

"Dem need fi go somewhere else. They are a nuisance to us around here," said a female resident, while another added that they often steal water and fruits from trees.

A domestic helper said, "When we a come or leave work, we afraid cause dem will rob we."

However, claims of nuisance, were quickly denied.

"A nuh we a di trouble makers. A di one dem weh go New Kingston rob people and dem ting deh," he said.

The funeral service for Reggae singer Luciano's son Menelik McClymont will take place on Friday, April 3 at Meadowvale Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Red Hills Road.

His stepmother Sonia Sterling who confirmed the arrangements said he will be buried at the Meadowrest Memorial Park in St Catherine. According to a report in the Jamaica Observer the singer is not handling his son's death very well.

His wife told the paper that Luciano has to be cancelling his shows and added to that some promoters are threatening to sue. While promoters are unfeeling towards the grief he has been going through his wife said the entertainment community has been very supportive.

"A couple of artistes pass through and offer dem condolences... Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffiths, Tony Rebel. It really make a difference. And we have been getting text from people far and wide," she was quoted as saying.

Luciano's son was stabbed several times on February 27 at about 2:30 pm. He was rushed to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The JetBlue flight attendant who kicked off her Gucci heels and ran leaving 70 pounds of cocaine behind at LAX will have to stay in jail a little while longer.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, 31, appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court on Thursday where a judge granted her a $500,000 bond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Washington asked the judge to delay Reynold's release pending an extradition appeal by a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles.

Wearing grey Converse sneakers and jeans, Reynolds appeared in court with her mother and Allen Jennings, a controversial Pentecostal preacher who was accused of sexual harassment when he was a city councilman.

Jennings and Reynolds' mother put up their homes to secure her 500K bond.

"Miss Reynolds is a very good young woman,," Jennings said in open court. "She may not have been fully aware of what was in the bags."

Jennings added that Reynolds flew back to NY using her JetBlue credentials which were still valid until Thursday when JetBlue suspended her.

Reynolds, who is a former beauty queen in her native Jamaica, is studying to be a nurse at Mercy College. She also ran track at New York University.

NEW YORK (AP) - A JetBlue flight attendant accused of trying to sneak a suitcase full of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport and making a dramatic dash to escape says she might not have been sure what was in her bag, a spokesman for her said Thursday as prosecutors suggested she had smuggled before.

Marsha Gay Reynolds, a former Jamaican beauty queen and college track athlete, turned herself in Wednesday to face a federal drug charge.

Authorities said they found 70 pounds of cocaine in her luggage at LAX on March 18 after she was flagged for a random security screening, flung off her high heels and bolted barefoot down an upward-moving escalator. They said she ran out of the terminal and crossed the country to New York.

Reynolds' spokesman Allan Jennings, representing her family and her defense lawyer, said, "She may not have been fully aware of what was in the bags."

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Washington told a court that last week was "not the only time the defendant has engaged in this conduct." Washington didn't elaborate, and Jennings said he was surprised by the claim.

A U.S. magistrate judge set bail for Reynolds at $500,000 and then warned her parents and two friends from her church they could lose their homes if she flees. He gave prosecutors a day to appeal before Reynolds can be freed.

Reynolds, a 31-year-old Jamaican-born U.S. citizen, graduated from New York University and ran track there. She was a runner-up in the Miss Jamaica World 2008 pageant, which sends the country's representative to Miss World contests.

Leaders of the Jamaica pageant were "shocked and surprised" at news of Reynolds' arrest, said organizer Laura Butler, who doesn't know Reynolds. She said Reynolds apparently had traveled to Jamaica to compete while living in New York, as the contest allows for women of Jamaican heritage living elsewhere.

Reynolds arrived last week at a security checkpoint in LAX's Terminal 4 wearing jeans, heels and a black suit jacket and carrying her known crew member badge, an FBI agent's sworn statement said. She was off duty at the time.

Asked to step aside for a random check, Reynolds nervously looked around and made a cellphone call as she was led to a screening area, the statement said. When a Transportation Security Administration officer asked her for identification, she dropper her bag, ditched her Gucci shoes and took off, an affidavit said. A TSA officer said he didn't pursue her because his primary concern was her abandoned luggage.

In it was just over 68 pounds of cocaine, worth as much as $3 million on the streets of Los Angeles, authorities said.

JetBlue Airways Corp., which suspended Reynolds, said it was cooperating with the investigation.

Prosecutors said Reynolds "took advantage of her position as a crew member" and "abused the trust" she had. If convicted, Reynolds could face at least 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.

The TSA has been concerned about security threats from insiders, including airline and airport employees, particularly after several baggage handlers were arrested in December 2014 on charges of smuggling guns from Atlanta to New York.

Dancehall artiste, Timberlee is over the moon now that her bundle of joy has arrived.

This is what she had to say on Twitter, as she posted a pic of her little man sound asleep..

"Nap time be like...???????????? ??????. I love my baby so much words can't explain. It really is something you have to experience for urself to really know the feeling. But having him and loving him beyond verbal expression makes me wonder about the mothers who mistreat their babies and how insane they must be, and it also makes me aware of how great God is to bring parents through the pain of loosing a child. Anyways, whether you're experiencing the challenges of raising a child or if your child has gone to Heaven, it is only by the grace of God that we are able to make the decisions that are right for ourselves and our loved ones each day. #LifeChanging #SelfLesslyLiving #SuperBabyPowers #AllinAdaysLove."

Grammy-nominated gospel singer James Fortune has begun serving five days in a Texas jail for assaulting his wife during a 2014 argument.sp

Fort Bend County jail records show the 38-year-old Fortune turned himself in Monday night in Richmond, about 20 miles southwest of Houston.

Fortune earlier this year month pleaded guilty to assault on a family member, in a plea deal. Fortune must also serve five years of probation, do community service and not have any contact with his estranged wife.

Fortune's hits include "Hold On" and "I Trust You."

In court, a prosecutor read a victim impact statement from Fortune's wife in which she wrote, "I hope in all of this you get help. Serious help. Although this probation might be like a slap on the wrist, I hope you look at it as a moment to better yourself and change something within you for your future."

This is the second time Fortune has pleaded guilty after hurting a family member.

In 2002 he took a plea deal for six years of probation after burning his four-year-old son in hot water.

There was a massive operation underway in sections of Tivoli Gardens in Kingston.

Police, in a pre dawn raid on Tuesday, swooped down on sections of the West Kingston community, searching for guns and wanted men.

"The clamp down is part of an initiative to bring the recent crime situation under control and to go after some persons we believe are key players in the ongoing gang feud that has once again triggered tension in the area," a senior officer told explained.